The End
by Pharrells Girl
Summary: Jake and Rae have a little talk...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

San Francisco 2015 (This story is set 10 years after the events of The Struggle and The New and 14 years after #54 That would make Jake 31, Cassie 30, and Rae 12)

For those who are new to this universe, I would suggest that you go back and read The New and The Struggle in that order. Otherwise you will be utterly confused and start reviewing with stupid questions like "Why can't Jake Morph out of his injury?" and "Who is Rae?" that you would have known if you read my earlier stories/.

My name is Rachel.

But everyone calls me Rae.

My parents had their story.

Now this is mine.

It all started before I was born. Almost 20 years ago 5 kids decided to take a shortcut through an abandoned construction site. They stumbled upon one alien (later his brother?) and the greatest evil that this side of the universe has ever seen. The Yeerks.

After 4 long years, they managed to defeat the aliens and save the world. But not without a heavy cost.

You see, two of the kids happened to be my parents, Jake and Cassie Berenson. The other were my Dad's cousin, Rachel, his best friend Marco, and Rachel's boyfriend Tobias.

Rachel died in the final battle, along with my Dad's brother, Tom. The survivors were heros, but my Dad and Tobias went into a deep depression over losing the people that were closest to them. But that all changed once Ax was captured by a new threat, the "One". My Dad went with Marco, Tobias and the US Special forces under the radar to go save him. And they did.

Mom stayed behind and had me.

I wish I could tell you that everything worked out fine.

But it didn't.

In the process of freeing Ax, Dad was injured pretty badly.

Paralyzed badly.

He ended up in a wheelchair. And there was no way to fix him. No morphing, no special Andalite technology. Nothing worked.

When he got back, he had it pretty rough, but everything turned out better in the end.

We lived, along with my little brother and sister, in Berkeley. Mom ended up being the doctor that she always wanted to be, a psychiatrist to boot.

Dad took a more relaxed position due to his injury. He ran a place part-time for injured soldiers, but he also became a writer.

For the most part, I could say we were the prototypical happy family.

But that all changed the week before 7th grade

* * *

"Rae, RAE! Dinner time!" I heard Dad yell from the hall.

"Give me a couple minutes!" I yelled back to him. I was on the phone with my friend Robin.

"Of course, I want to go downtown, we can ride the cable cars. I definitely want to go to get some Ice Cream at the Ghiradelli store. Mom says it's full of calories and it's totally unhealthy, but I can't resist!" I put the phone down for a second

My plan was to leave before dinnertime, so I started brushing my light brown curly hair and I put it into a ponytail. It wasn't as tightly curled as my Mom's or bone straight like Dad's, but it was still a pain in the butt to comb.

I frowned at myself in the mirror.

My dark brown eyes stared right back at me. Everyone says my eyes are just like my Dad's. Ugh. Why? Mom's eyes are soooooo much prettier.

Dad also was nice enough go give me embarrassing freckles that dotted my light brown skin. As well as a nose that didn't look like it belonged anywhere on my face.

_The joys of being mixed..._

At least I got my Mom's beautiful cheekbones and lips. But that was an aside. In reality, I never focused too much on the fact my parents were different races. When I was little, I knew they looked different, but I didn't know that Dad was White and Mom was Black until my kindergarten teacher pointed it out to me. But most people in the Bay are mixed with something or other, so I never cared.

I put a Green hoodie on over my yellow tank and picked the receiver back up. Robin came back

"Oh I completely understand! It's been forever since we've been able to try and sneak into the city. Too many paparazzi try to follow you around Rae."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

That was one of the drawbacks about having world-famous parents. All the attention.

We couldn't even go out to the movies without a bunch of crazy cameramen following us.

Mom tried to shield us by sending us to private school and giving us bodyguards, because people had done some crazy stuff in the past...

"RAE! The food's getting cold! Plus your Mom is coming through the door! You know she just got off her shift and wants to sit down to a nice meal. Together. Before she passes out." I could hear Dad's voice getting more impatient by the second.

"Dad, I said I'll get off soon!

I heard him wheel up the hall and come into my room. He came into the threshold. He was not happy.

He stroked his goatee and frowned. I could see him staring at me from behind his glasses.

He folded his muscular arms over his chest and glared at me.

"Rachel, I have been waiting for ten minutes for you to get off the phone. I expect you to actually DO something when I tell you, not to have to come get you." He said, in his super-creepy steely voice he had whenever he was pissed.

"Robin, I gotta go, call you later." I whispered just as he came over to me.

"Possessive much?" I grumbled.

"I'm not being possessive Rachel. I'm parenting. There's a difference."

"Yeah,right." I rolled my eyes

"Excuse me? Don't roll your eyes at me" He raised an eyebrow.

I thought of a snappy comeback. But decided against it. I never wanted to get on Dad's bad side. I never won. Not like Mom. She was a pushover.

"Nevermind,"

I followed Dad out of my room and into the dining room and sat down at the table, where dinner was waiting.

Fish. Ew. At least it wasn't Mom's Tofu surprise.

My litter brother Tommy and my little sister Melissa were sitting in the booster seats at the dining room table.

Let me emphasize Little.

Tommy is 5 and Melissa is 3. Tommy has bright golden skin and this cute little black baby afro. Melissa has an almost copper color to her and her hair is wavy dark brown. They both look more like Mom then Dad. Unlike me. Everyone says I look more like him.

They're cute, but can be little pain in the you -know-what's.

At the current moment, Mom walked through the door in her scrubs, looking completely exhausted.

"Hey my babies."

I see all these photos of her from when the war ended, and she hasn't changed a bit. She looks a little older, but she cut her hair short again.

She went to kissed Tommy and Melissa on the forehead.

"Don't I get a kiss too?" Dad rolled over to her and she bent down to kiss him. Not by much though.

I always thought it funny with Dad in the chair, that I was the tallest person in my family so far, even though I was only 12.

"Ewww. Gross. PDA." I half-joked as I shielded my eyes and took a seat at the table.

Right now, Melissa was reaching over and putting peas in Tommy's little Afro.

"Melissa sweetie, that's a no-no" Mom said kindly, taking the food out of his hair.

"Well at least everyone is here together. Honey, you work too many overnight shifts." Dad said as he rolled to the table.

"I know, I know. There are a shortage of psych interns at county." She took a seat and we all started to eat. "But that should be over soon."

"Why, what happened?" Dad asked.

Mom tried to hide a smile.

"It came through..TOMMY! You don't throw carrots at your sister!"

Dad went over to wrangle Tommy.

"It did?" Dad beamed.

"Yes. UC-Santa Barbara accepted my application. They're excited that my residency went so well."

"Wait. What came through?" I was confused.

"What did your parents say?" Dad took the carrots off Tommy's plate.

I never realized how good my folks were at multitasking.

"They're very excited. This will give them the opportunity to finally move into that Condo downtown that they always wanted to. And after Daddy's heart attack..." Mom trailed off into nothingness.

Pop-Pop had a heart attack last year. He didn't die, but it scared all of us. He started to cut back his hours at the clinic, and Mom-Mom started working less at the new zoo.

I was shocked. The farm was ours so long...I needed a moment to find out what was going on.

"Wait, wait, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop are seriously moving? I thought they were kidding! The farm has been in our family since the dawn of time!" I asked.

"Yes sweetie. They're not as young as they used to be. Taking care of that place has been hard on them the last couple of years."

"So what does that mean? Are they selling it?"

"Not exactly..." Dad trailed off.

Mom and Dad shared glances.

_Uh-Oh. This CAN'T be good. _I thought.

"They're not selling it, Rae. I would NEVER allow that to happen." Mom reassured me.

I blinked, confused for a second.

Then I got it. Just as Mom said...

"We're moving. Back home."

"WHAT?" I yelled.

"Outdoor voice!" Tommy said as he pointed at me.

I gave him a sneer.

"Rae, don't make faces." Mom said.

"Ok, but excuse me for being upset! You cannot barge in here today and say, 'Oh honey, we're moving, could you pass the potatoes?' "

"Would you, Rae?" Dad asked.

I groaned as I passed them to him.

"I know it's a lot to deal with, but this has been in the works for months. We were just waiting for me to get the position." She tried to explain.

I wasn't buying it.

"How come I didn't know? Tell me you're joking!"

"I didn't want to tell you until I was sure they picked me honey. You have to understand-"

I had a hard time ever listening to my parents, especially today of all days, the day where they were going to rip everything away from me.

I pushed my plate away.

"This is so unfair? What about me? You know, I have friends! I have a life too! Or at least I try with the crazy paparazzi everywhere."

"Rae this is not just about you. We made this decision for all of us."

"I bet. You know what, I'm not so hungry now."

"Rae, we're not done eating dinner." Mom started to say. But I wan't having it.

"I am." I got up and started to go back to my room, but Dad tried to cut me off at the hallway

"Rachel Berenson. Don't go down that hall!" Dad yelled.

I ignored them.

_Life as I know it is OVER. _I thought as slammed the door and plopped down on my bed.

I didn't know it then, but in more ways hen one, I was absolutely right.

* * *

**YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS.**

YES. I DO.

**TEN YEARS ELLIMIST. YOU WERE GIVEN TEN YEARS.** **MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME TO PLOT YOUR FILTHY KETRAN WAYS.**

THAT I WAS.

A mysterious being with a giant red eye materialized out of the void. "Across" from him, looking over the San Francisco Bay, was a rendition of a giant whitish human spirit.

**PRETTY GOOD, TOOMIN. EVEN YOUR TECHNICAL DEALINGS ARE BETTER THAN THE LAST TIME WE TRIED HUMANS. BUT, NOW IT IS MY MOVE. FINALLY!**

I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE, CRAYAK. EVIL NEVER WINS.

**NOT THIS TIME.EVEN YOU COULDN'T GUARANTEE COMPLETE SUCCESS WITH A STACKED DECK. **

TRUE. BUT THE HUMANS HAVE A SAYING. "DON'T COUNT ALL YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH.

**OH, BUT THEY ALREADY HAVE!** **THEY ALREADY HAVE.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Deux (or two, for Sinister Shadow!)

Mom knocked on the door. I knew it was Mom because I could hear footsteps before she knocked.

"Go away,"

"Rae, I just want to talk to you."

_Parents._

"I don't want to talk to you guys ever again!" I pulled my hoodie over my head.

I could hear a pause.

That meant only one thing.

She was going to talk to me anyway.

I heard her open the door from the outside and come in the room.

"How did you do that?"

"These doors don't lock, remember?"

"RIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT." I remembered. They did that for a reason. So Dad wouldn't be able to hurt himself, in the old days.

And I guess when my little brother and sister were born she never fixed them.

She put a hand on my shoulder and sat down next to me on my bed.

"Rae, Rachel. Look at me. Please?"

I started to cry.

"How could you go and do this?"

She turned my head to face me.

"Rae, you and I have been through a LOT together. A LOT. And you're angry that you have to leave everything you've ever known. That's the nature of life, Rae. Change. Everything changes. Everyone changes. You just have to accept it and move on." "

"That's easy for YOU to say. I have a normal life...or semi-normal...or"

I regretted that as soon as I said it. Sometimes, when I'm angry with my parents, I forget they used to be the Animorphs and had terrible teenage years. More horrible than anything I ever would go through in a thousand lifetimes.

But if Mom was upset, she wasn't showing it. She just wiped some hair away from my face.

"What I mean to say is-" I tried to continue. But she didn't let me

"You're scared, anxious, and not quite sure about how you'll fit into a world you only used to visit. One that doesn't have the people or the atmosphere of the Bay area. You don't know how you're going to make it without your friends,"

Man! Mom was good!

"Yeah. That's right..." I sniffled.

"You will, Rae. You know why? Because we're a strong family, that's why. We're able to get through ANYTHING that comes our way. Now give me a hug."

How could I not? Mom knew just what to say to make me feel better. I don't think it was the psychiatrist in her either.

Begrudgingly, I sat up in the bed and gave her a hug. I felt so safe nestled in her scrubs, even though they had that nasty hospital smell to them.

"Now go apologize to your father."

_I KNEW there was a catch!_

"Aw, Mom!" I pouted.

"Rae, I mean it. You've been vicious to him for the past few weeks, even before I told you about the move."

"That's because he doesn't understand me AT ALL. I mean, he took down my Corbin Bleu, Omarion, and Adam Levine posters and said they were too old for me! He even returned them to the store!" I looked at the bare walls of my room. I started taking down all of the unicorns and teddy bear pictures that had been there forever.

Dad had other plans. He didn't want me staring at 'Dirty Half-Naked Men', in his exact words.

"Aw, he's just trying to look out for you." Mom stroked my hair.

"Pssh. He'll never let me have a life. He doesn't understand that I'm not a little kid anymore," I told her.

"Your father has own special way of showing that he cares about you. Trust me. He has your best interests at heart," Mom lifted up my chin. "Now get out there and apologize."

"Fine, fine."

I didn't want to, but I got up from my bed and went out the door

"He's in the family room!" Mom yelled.

I narrowed my eyes and went back down the hall, past the kitchen and breakfast nook, and into the family room. Tommy and Melissa were almost asleep on the big couch, it was close to their bedtimes. Dad was typing away at the computer. If he heard me come in, he didn't show it.

"Dad?"

No response.

"Uh, Dad?"

I walked over to him.

"Dad!"

"What Rachel? I'm busy. I need to finish this outline before my editor's deadline. Unless it's important-"

"I'm sorry, all right?"

He looked at me skeptically. I can't help but think that on some level, I could have said 'Frog guts,' and I would get the same response.

He just shook his head and looked at me. He had this vein popping out of his forehead, the same one he gets when he's so angry it's like he's fighting space aliens again.

"You know Rae, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

He shut the computer off and went to go put Tommy and Melissa to bed.

I just turned off the light and went back to my bedroom.

* * *

2 weeks later...

"Ok, we're here!"

Mom's voice woke me up from the back of the car.

I blinked once, twice.

_Mom's farm._

The home of my new life.

I must have fallen asleep to my MP3 player when we got on the highway.

It was a miracle, considering Tommy and Melissa were so loud and Dad was trying to make everyone sing road-trip songs.

But I couldn't bear to leave Berkeley. The last two weeks were just unreal. I spent as much time as I could hanging out with my friends Robin, Juan, and Mike. What else could I do, pack?

It was upsetting enough to see potential buyers poking their way around the house.

Eventually this couple from Canada bought it, I think.

It didn't matter, because it would always be my house.

When we left for the last time, I started to bawl as my friends waved goodbye. We made a pact the day before to be 'Friends Forever' and hopefully Mom would let me go back and visit them, but...

_It's never going to be the same...I still can't believe this is happening to me..._

But now, I looked up to see my grandparents looking back at me from outside the car window.

Mom-mom had gotten a few more streaks of gray and white in her hair, and Pop-Pop was balder than I remembered him to be, but they were the same as always.

"Oh Rae, you're getting so BIG!" Mom-Mom exclaimed as I stepped out of the car. "Come over here and give your Mom-Mom some sugar!"

I walked over and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you too Mom-Mom."

"And what about me? Are you too old to hug you Pop-pop?"

"Aw, you guys got me,"

I loved my Mom's parents. I LOVED them. They were an extension of Mom. Such kind-hearted people. When I was little, I remembered being so spoiled by them. They even got me a horse!

"And because we love you, we made your favorite!" Pop-Pop's voice snapped me back to the present.

"Five-Alarm Chili!"

NOTHING beat Pop-Pop's Chili.

"He probably made that great Jalapeno cornbread too," Dad said, holding a box in his hand.

"Of course Jake. Along with Macaroni and Cheese, the baked kind. Topped off with Grammy's sweet tea, rest her soul."

Grammy was my Mom's Great-Grandmother. She died soon after my parents got married. It still amazed me that 5 generations of out family were alive at once.

Dad smiled at my grandparents and went up the ramp to the porch they installed after his accident. My little brother and sister stayed outside, helping Mom unload the car. We mostly had our clothes and shoes. The moving trucks were already here, apparently.

Then we saw another car come down the road. I recognized that to be Grandma and Grandpa.

Dad's parents.

Once they came into the driveway, they came out of the car and hugged Tommy and Melissa.

Dad saw them and came back out of the house.

"Hey son!" They instantly wrapped him up in a huge hug.

"Grandma and Grandpa! What are you doing here?" I asked, following him.

"I can't believe you've forgotten!" Grandma said as she came over to squeeze the life out of me.

"Um, we moved? I think I remembered that pretty well. I mean, I'm pulling my suitcase-"

"The ten days ring a bell? Rosh Hashanah? It starts tonight,"Grandpa said.

"Oh yeah..."

"Rae, you seriously need to brush up on your Sabbat school lessons." Dad told me.

"But I'm not-"

"Just because you might not technically be Jewish, doesn't mean it's not a part of you," Grandpa play-scolded me.

I wrinkled my nose. They were right. Besides, Rosh Hashanah was one of my favorite holidays. Already I could see Dad getting the shofar out of his parents' car.

"Jean, Steve, it's always a pleasure." Mom came over with Tommy and Melissa, who were instantly all over Grandma and Grandpa.

"Likewise, Cassie. We think it's great that you're all down here full-time. It gives us an excuse to see our grand kids more." Grandma said.

While they were talking, I decided to go and put my stuff back in the house.

I also wanted to get away. Just for some peace and quiet.

I guess it's times like these where I wish I could morph.

_Hawk like Tobias, and fly far, far, away._

I pulled my suitcase up the stairs and looked around. It seemed that my grandparents had packed almost all of their things up and left ours. There were notes on the door, showing who had what bedroom.

I was hoping for the Master Suite, because that would just be so cool. But no dice.

I got a VERY familiar room.

Mom's old room.

I opened the door and looked around.

_Definitely not my super-cool room in Berkeley, but at least Dad can't charge in here and destroy things._

Speaking of, if Dad couldn't get upstairs, where WERE they going to sleep?

Before I could even unzip my suitcase, Mom-Mom knocked on the door.

"Rae, there you are! Your Dad's parents want to have their special dinner. And they said it had to start soon, because the sun is setting,"

"Um, can they do it without me? I just want to be alone." Hugging my knees to my chest, I stared out onto the cornfields. At any other time, like vacation, I would say they were beautiful.

Now they looked like yellow prison bars.

"Now come on, Rae, don't be disrespectful. Your Grandfather is already down there starting, and he says he has a lot of presents and treats for you,"

"At least you guys are being nice to me," I told her.

"What do you mean? Are you fighting with your parents?"

"Yes, I mean, it's complicated."

"Now don't tell me they're messing with my grand baby," Mom-Mom laughed as she took me to the dining room.

All the lights were off. Dad and Grandpa were setting up the table for Sabbat Dinner. Dad was even wearing a yarmulke. Grandma was trying to get a little one to stay on Tommy's head.

"Do you need one, John?"

"I have my own, thanks," Pop-Pop pulled out a huge colorful kufi that he got from some random trip to Africa .

"Okay, everyone else sit down. And NO TALKING. That means you Rae. Dad is going to say the prayer,"

Grandpa started to sing in really beautiful Hebrew as total nightfall came. He blessed a cup of Grape Juice as Dad lit the candles on the table. We started to wash our hands and Grandpa cut the bread. After we said "Amen,"Grandpa started blowing the shofar. Tommy and Melissa started to go wild, but I guess it was okay with them. After he finished, we just started to eat like it was any normal meal.

That was WAY intense. When Dad does it, which has been twice in my life, we just light candles and talk.

Come to think of it, neither of my parents were very religious, although I know my Mom is a lapsed Catholic. I guess after everything they went through, religion was pretty moot.

"So, Cassie. Congratulations about the position. Adolescents and Young Adults aren't the easiest patients, but I'm sure you'll do fine." Grandpa winked at me as he spoke.

I wrinkled my nose again.

_So what is this, Pick-on-Rae month?_

"Thank you Steve. I'm still elated. This job is like a dream come true. Set hours, no more 2nd and 3rd shifts. I can actually sit and eat with my family. And especially since Rae is starting Middle School, both of us are going to need to be around a lot more. Especially since Tommy is starting Kindergarten. Jake will only have Melissa at home."

"So where will I be going to school Mom?" I asked, gently blowing on the Chili.

"Well, I know I've had you pretty insulated back up in Berkeley. I mean, I like private schools Rae, but they are just too small. I was able to get away with it in Berkeley because it's so diverse, but,"

She looked over at me.

"I think we should try out our old school."

I gaped.

"Just a trial run. I have to get you kids out in the real world. Don't worry, they'll up the security, I could even hire you a bodyguard. But Rae, I didn't like any of the other schools around here. I think you need to be around a good mix of people and the Junior High has it. Plus, it has a good girls' basketball team. You were an all star last year, remember?"

Dad raised his eyebrows in excitement. I know one of his psycho missions is to get me into the WNBA.

"But I don't want to play basketball anymore. Not after I hurt my ankle! I want to dance!"

"Not this again," Dad rubbed his head "Rae, you have to at least give it another try. Your talent, I haven't seen anyone else with it since-"

I knew what he was going to say.

_Tom._

I could see a glint of pain in his good eye.

Tom was still a forbidden-zone in my father's life. Or My Grandparents' lives.

They NEVER talked about him around us.

"I'm just saying, give yourself the option before you stop. You never know when opportunity will be snatched away from you."

"I guess I'll try your school. And Basketball, I'll think about it," I said, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Good, good,"

Dad and Mom then started to discuss other things with my grandparents, but I couldn't even muster up the passion to talk to them. I just asked if I could put Tommy and Melissa to bed.

They said yes, and I led them up to bed.

But instead of going to bed myself, I put on a T-Shirt and overalls and I snuck out the back of the house and out to the barn. I didn't turn on any lights, I didn't want to hear it from Dad and I also didn't want anyone to see me go out of the house.

Barefoot, I walked up and down the cornfield directly behind the house, gazing up at the stars. I don't know what it was, but it was so beautiful. Maybe because in Berkeley, you never could see the stars.

But something was dragging me towards the Barn.

I put my hand on the door.

_Maybe I can hang out in the hayloft...I don't think they keep anything up there but supplies._

But as soon as I touched the metal, I got the jolt of my life.

I saw a HUGE RED EYE...staring at a little girl..

Then the little girl got sucked into a vortex.

Wait a second...

That little girl was ME!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Tres, er Three

_What the hell was that?_ _That made NO sense._

I shook my head.

_OK Rae, you've had a long day. Plus the hanaberos in the Chili. Maybe it's making you sick. All you need to do is go to bed._

I let go of the barn door and ran back to the house.

* * *

"What do you think you were doing?" A tall, blond-haired young lady was levitating in the heavens, legs crossed. 

I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE THE BEST IDEA TO SHOW HER THE DANGER-

"She's twelve!!!. On top of that-" The girl protested

"Well, being young didn't stop a certain group of human adolescents from stopping him-"

"Well, you have a point there, but there has to be a better way...let me try!"

The blond girl floated over to him.

"If you send me, she'll trust what I have to say over anyone else."

I CAN NOT DO THAT. YOU KNOW ABOUT THE RULES! NO DIRECT INTERFERENCE.

The Ellimist stroked the beard that he had when he appeared to humans.

"But Drode has made their lives a living hell. Well, before the deal, but you know what I mean. There has to be some way you can use me-"

USE YOU AS CRAYAK USED DRODE?

The Ellimist thought for a second.

I SUPPOSE I COULD BEND THE RULES, AS HE HAS BEFORE. ARE YOU READY?

"No, maybe we should give her another revolution, er, I mean, day. Man, I've been dead too long."

AS YOU WISH.

* * *

(Rae) 

I woke up next morning. My sleep had been pretty normal, but there was something about that Big Red Eye. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt like I'd seen it somewhere before.

_Probably in a nightmare you had as a kid. Don't worry, nightmares aren't real._

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned.

It was so weird to be sleeping, living, in my Mom's room. There were still boxes of things unpacked, as well as my half-empty suitcase.

_Speaking of suitcases..._

I had to find something to wear to school.

I grabbed a pair of jeans and looked around for a top to wear. I found this really nice pink 3/4ths top after a while. I took those and the rest of my clothes with me.

Then I made my way down the hall to the bathroom, but there was a MAJOR traffic jam! God, this NEVER happened at home, at least I had my own bathroom!

"MOM!" I yelled.

"What Rae?"

"I need to take a shower!!"

"Honey, I need to give your little brother a bath. It's his first day of school too!"

"Mom, I can't wait...school starts in an hour. The hot water-"

"Will be fine. Your grandparents put in a new heater two years ago. Anyway, use the bathroom downstairs. It'll be easier for you to get some breakfast."

I shook my head and went downstairs.

I hadn't spent too much time down here last night, but I noticed the hallway leading to the family room was longer. But then I saw why.

Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop had built an extra bedroom downstairs for Mom and Dad.

_Hey, that's thoughtful._

Though I didn't want to use their bathroom, I had no choice.

I knocked on the door. No answer.

_Good, Dad's not in. Maybe I can have some peace and quiet._

As soon as I jumped in the shower, my plan was thwarted. I ran out of hot water almost immediately.

_Oh great, this is juuuuust great!_

I finished my shower in the ice-cold water. I tried combing out my hair, but, it frizzed up. Mom had some unused brushes and Dad had some hair gel.

_Well, let's try to use the best of both worlds._

5 minutes later, I had a serviceable ponytail. But I couldn't help but look around the bathroom before I left. The whole bathroom was modified so that someone who was in a wheelchair could use it.

I bit my lip and put my clothes on.

_Maybe I should just be happy I can use both bathrooms._

I ran out to the kitchen, and Dad handed me a bagel.

"Can I have some lox, Dad?" I asked him.

"No kiddo, your Mom needs to get on the road now if you and your brother want to get to school on time." He handed me something else. A gym bad. "I got you new sneakers. Those Pink Vans you like and the New Jordans. And some gym clothes...all you'll need to do well."

I looked at him for a moment. He actually cared.

"Thanks, Dad,"

"You're welcome, Rachel."

I put my socks and sneakers on just as Mom hauled Tommy down the stairs, fully dressed.

"Rae, are we ready?" She asked as she grabbed a breakfast bar for him and took the keys off of the hook.

"Yeah," I finished tying my shoes and started to Munch on my Bagel.

Mom took my LL Bean backpack off the coat rack. I looked back at my father.

He wasn't dressed.

"Aren't you coming?"I asked.

"No, I have to stay here with your sister. But have fun, Rachel. And stay out of trouble."

* * *

The ride out of our farm was slightly bumpy, but once we got on the road, two black cars followed us to school. 

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Bodyguards, Rachel. I had to take some precautions. Jake insisted on it."

"Oh,"

It seemed my personal space would be invaded here just like it was in Berkeley.

Tommy's school was first. His Elementary school was closer than the Middle school. Probably because there were more Elementary schools than Middle schools.

Tommy literally JUMPED out of the car when we arrived. It was a cute little place with a bunch of kids running around.

I saw Mom run out of the car to corral Tommy.

She kneeled down to him and whispered something in his ear. Then she motioned to me.

"Take a picture, Rae!"

"But you don't have a camera!"

"You should have one, it's in your cell phone!"

I raised my eyebrows and got out of the car.

Seeing Mom squeezed next to Tommy was cute, I had to admit.

"Say Cheese!"

I took the picture and Mom got back in the car. We both waved at Tommy, who was escorted to the school by one of the bodyguards.

The Middle School was farther up the road.

And so was the craziness.

There were so many Paparazzi everywhere, leading up the main street.

When the cops saw our car, they escorted us into the parking lot.

"Rach, this is your stop,"

I didn't move.

"Mom I don't want to-"

"Rachel, I know you like to fight about everything, but this is not one of them."

"But look around! The police have to take me into school. I'm already going to be labeled the biggest loser in school and I haven't even stepped in the place!"

"Rae, honestly now. You haven't even given it a chance. And look, here comes the principal."

A woman who appeared to be Mom's age came over to the car. Mom mouthed "Get out", so I did.

"Hi Cassie, how is everything? How was the move?" The lady asked.

"It was fine, Melissa. We're still getting settled in. Aren't we Rachel?"

"Huh?" I was taking my stuff out the back of the car when the lady came over to me.

"Rachel, my name is Melissa Chapman, and I'm the Principal. I've come to personally welcome you to our school." She stuck out her hand.

_That Melissa Chapman?_

Mom started to pull away from us.

"Be good sweetie!" I heard her yell.

I rolled my eyes.

As she and a bodyguard started to take me through the front door, I could feel the stares of all the students who were walking in.

"You're Mom tells me you're quite the basketball player..."

I started to tune her out. No way I wanted to talk to the principal of all people.

_Great, they already think I'm a freak. _

"...and this is your locker, You're in the "B"'s obviously. Just put your things in here, you get a lock with a combination free of charge. Your homeroom is around the corner. They'll give you a copy of your schedule. Good luck Rachel. You are going to be a welcome addition to our community."

I shrugged my shoulders as she walked back down the hall. The bodyguard looked at me,

"Ready?" he asked as he took me to homeroom

_Do I have a choice?_

I slid into the back just as the teacher started to take roll.

When My last name was called, I raised my hand. Then I slunk back down into the chair.

We spent another 5 minutes listening to the teacher, Mr David, introduce himself, then the bell rang. I went up and got my schedule.

"First period Social Studies? You have GOT to be kidding me," I muttered.

"You have Social Studies? That's funny. I have it too." I whipped around and looked for the girl whose voice I heard.

"Behind you," There was a girl, maybe a couple inches shorter than me. She had braids and warm, welcoming brown eyes. They matched her coffee brown-colored skin.

"Hi, I'm Tanya. And you must be-"

"Rachel. My name is Rachel. But you can just call me Rae. Everyone else does."

She smiled.

_Maybe this won't be so bad, after all_.

"The Social Studies teacher is all the way across the building, past the cafeteria. It's a pain to walk to, but we have enough time."

"Really? That stinks. Back home, I went to a smaller school, everything was closer together."

"Where did you go to school?"

_She didn't know?_

"Oh, I used to live in Berkeley."

"Ah! I knew there was something different about you. Besides your hair."

"Um, yeah. I'm mixed. My Mom is Black and my Dad is White." I started to nervously ramble.

"Well, I knew _that_. Everyone knows about your parents."

"So why did you ask about Berkeley?" I was curious.

"Well, no one down here knew where you guys were still living there. We thought ya'll were down here."

"Nah, Mom never liked L.A. or San Diego. She said the Paparazzi were so bad, they would kill us, just like they killed that Princess in England."

"She has a point there," Tanya said. "Oh, here we are. Mr. Turner. Social Studies. My big brother had him for Social Studies when he was in middle school."

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, he's 17. He goes to the high school. His name is Jamal."

"I'd rather have an older sibling than two younger ones. Tommy and Melissa are so annoying. But that would be near impossible,"

We entered the classroom and took a seat. Mr. Turner started to take roll. Then he started to talk about what was happening in California and the rest of the world.

_Well at least some things are the same everywhere you go..._

School was starting to look like it wouldn't be so terrible. Tanya was also in my second period English class, as well as Fourth period Math. For third period Spanish, I was on my own. At lunch, I spotted her again. She invited me to sit with her friends.

"Okay, everyone, this is Rae."

"What up shorty?" A big guy in a football jersey smiled at me

"Uh,"_ Ohmigod!, I didn't know people still said that!_

"Darryl. Shut up. Don't scare her." Tanya threw an apple at his head.

I clutched my brown bag lunch.

"Well, I will say this, you got some good hair," another girl told me.

"Me? No way, it takes forever..."

"But it looks so soft. You probably don't even need a hot comb."

Now I was getting embarrased. How could they be so right about my hair? I never met any of these people before.

"All right, all right, back off. Don't traumatize her on the first day here." Tanya scolded everyone.

I bit into my sandwich.

"Do you have gym next?"

I nodded my head.

"It's going to be basketball tryouts for everyone, guys and girls. Do you want to go look?

It was better than eating the brussel sprout sandwich Mom made. Or even the green goop on the lunch tray of the other people.

Tanya and I snuck out and looked.

But I was in shock. There was a big placard that read.

"The Thomas Berenson Memorial Gym"

I covered my mouth with my hand. No way Dad dedicated they gym to his brother Tom.

It was all nice and clean, even better than the gym at my old school. And there it was.

A picture of my Uncle, showing him to be the all-time points leader at our school.

I could feel the anger boiling in my blood. Dad thought he was sneaky.

"Rae, is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all." I said through clenched teeth as the bell rang. I stalked off towards my locker.

A few minutes later, I came back with my gym clothes on. There were two teachers, I guess one was the gym teacher and the other held a sign for girls' basketball tryouts.

"Everyone who wants to try out over here!" I stood in line.

It was then I noticed people pointing at my Jordans.

"How'd she get the new ish...that Rich B-"

I shot people daggers and got in line.

The teacher split us up into two groups and we started to scrimmage. I did well as the center, I pulled down a few rebounds and blocked a few shots. I also made a couple baskets, one lay-up and another off the dribble in 3-point range.

The coach wrote something down on her clipboard. When I went up for another rebound, a girl fell into me and I rolled on my bad right ankle for a second.

"OW!"

"What's the matter?"

"My ankle," I motioned to the coach. He helped us up.

"That's enough for today Rachel. You did well. Do you need to see the nurse?"

"No, my Mom's a doctor, I'll have her look at it when I get home."

I limped back to the bleachers.

"Just give me a chance to rest," I moaned.

It was then I saw this light skinned black guy come in with the rest of the boys team, I guessed. He looked at me, smiled, and then started to drain threes.

I just sat on the sidelines

* * *

"So how was school?" Mom asked me. 

After Gym, I only had History and Music. They weren't so bad, but my ankle still hurt. Tanya wasn't in either of them, but the mysterious guy was in my music class. He smiled as we picked instruments. I got the flute, which I've never played before while I could see he studied the alto sax.

Then the final bell rang. Before I could get up to say anything to this mysterious boy, he was gone. The bodyguard came to get me.

When we walked out of school, Mom and Tommy were waiting for me.

I looked around for the boy, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Hop in sweetheart."

I got in the front seat.

"How was your day?"

"I rolled my ankle again."

"Well, I'll take a look at that when we get home. Did you make any friends?"

"Yes, there's this girl named Tanya, we have almost all of the same classes."

"That's great honey! I TOLD you that you'd be able to make friends!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Don't be pessimistic,"

"I don't know yet."

People were still staring as well pulled out of the parking lot and into the street.

"Just wait until tomorrow" She gave me a reasurring pat on the back.

I didn't know how ironic her statement was going to be.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

SHE SAW DRODE. SHE'S COMING INTO HER POWER EARLIER THAN WE THOUGHT.

She is a wildcard, Master

ARE YOU MOCKING ME, DRODE?

No, my liege. I am just stating, she has too much psychic energy from the last time you interfered. I would say you need to go back earlier

HMMMM...Crayak thought for a milisecond.

I HAVE THE PERFECT IDEA. ONE THAT WILL ENSURE MY COMPLETE VICTORY. AND DRODE?

The Drode looked at his master.

LAST TIME WAS TOO SLOPPY. TIGHTEN IT UP OR BE TURNED INTO A NEUTRON STAR.

* * *

(Rae)

The next morning, I must have slept in a little bit, because I woke up to Mom banging on my door.

"Rae! Get up! You're going to be late!"

I wiped the sleep out of my eyes.

"What time is it?"

"It's 7:15!"

_Shoot, I am late._

I started to get up out of bed, but I forgot about my ankle. As soon as I put my foot down, daggers shot up my leg.

"Ow, Mom, My ankle! I guess it still isn't healed all the way."

Mom looked at it for a second.

"Let me see that again...I see. Hmm,"

She went down the hall for the first aid kit.

As she started to wrap it up, she gave me instructions

"Now, no running, sudden movement, no sports...that includes Basketball. Just take it easy. sprains are hard to heal."

"Yes, Mom."

After I showered and got dressed, she and Tommy were waiting for me at the front door. Dad and Melissa were no where to be found.

"Your Dad is asleep, and so is Melissa. They don't need to be up so early. Come come."

I gingerly made my way over to the door. The bodyguards were outside waiting for us too.

As we drove Tommy to school, we ignored his baby talk and Mom started to ask me questions.

"How do you like school so far?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's fine, I guess."

"Do you like your classes?"

"They're ok. I mean, we haven't done much."

"Have you been meeting anyone?"

"Well, there's this girl Tanya. She's in most of my classes. She seems pretty nice. I haven't really gotten the chance to meet anyone else." I paused for a second.

We came up to Tommy's school.

"Rachel, let me get him into school."

She took Tommy's hand and walked him

"What's wrong?"

"I mean...I met her friends...they seem pretty nice too, but, Mom. Did anyone ever say I had-"

"But what honey?" She cut me off.

"Mom, has anyone ever said to you that I have 'Good Hair'?

Mom leaned back against the driver's seat. I could tell this was a sensitive topic with her too.

"Well, you're Great-Great-Grandmother said it when you were younger...but it's not something I've ever told you about. Are they bothering you about it?" she questioned me.

"A little,"

"Rae, don't ever let anyone tell you you're not who you are just because your hair might be different or your skin is lighter than theirs. Be proud of who you are, which is-"

"The both of you. I know I know. You've been drilling it in my head for the last 10 years." I quipped.

"For times like this. Now you're here. Let's go. Scram. You have to get to home room on time,"

I hugged her.

"Thank you Mom,"

She smiled and waved as I got out of the car.

_Why can't you tell everyone else that?_

* * *

"Welcome back to Social Studies, Class. Looks like I didn't scare you enough yesterday. But I think I'm going to change up on you guys today. Instead of regular Current Events, we're going to focus on Current Alien Events. Since you kids are the first generation to have Aliens openly live amongst humans, how do you feel about that?"

I could feel everyone's eyes staring at me, even the teacher. Tanya scribbled something down in her notebook.

_Don't worry about it, I'll answer._ It said

"Mr. Turner. I think it's pretty cool that we get to have aliens walk around on the street. My parents said they always knew there were other beings out there. Just the way it happened, I guess, it wasn't too great."

I looked down at the blue and white tiled floor.

"Yeah, my grandfather was a controller. Until his Yeerk got flushed."

The girl looked directly at me. Her ice-blue eyes were like lasers.

I knew the details of that last battle all too well.

"It just doesn't seem fair that both sides weren't punished." she complained.

I knew she was just about to talk about my parents, so I tried my best to shut him up.

"Well, would you rather everyone be walking around with alien slugs in their brains? A dead world? In every war there is sacrifice-" I started to say.

"Did your Dad tell you that Rachel? Or did you come up with that all by yourself?"

"What did you say about my Dad?" I could feel my cheek and neck flush up with heat.

No one talked about my family. NO ONE.

I unconsciously clenched my fist.

"Alright kids, take it easy. Take it easy. Maybe we should move on to something else." Mr. Turner said.

"Yeah," I whispered. The girl gave me the evil eye. I glared back at her.

_Two can play that game. _

Mr. Turner started talking about current Human events as I tried my best to get what she said out of my head.

Mom and Dad had killed a lot of Yeerks. But they always said it was for the 'Greater Good'. But maybe the 'Greater Good' wasn't good for everyone.

Mr. Turner talked about the President and Congress until the bell rang. Then he gave us homework. We were to bring in something that had historical significance in our family.

We filed out of the room. The girl looked like she wanted to talk bad to me, but Tanya pulled me away.

"Don't even talk to Becky. She's not worth it. She's a miserable person, racist too. She's just trying to bait you,"

"But how dare she talk about my Dad? Everyone knows he's suffered through so much because of the war. Just look at him! He's in a wheelchair."

"I know that Rae. She just likes to rip people down. It's her loss,"

I shook my head.

"What do we have next?"

"Oh, it's Tuesday. Second period we always have Health."

I made a face.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

She led me down another hallway to a bright and cheery room that had posters of the human body and random skeletons. The teacher introduced herself as Mrs. Matthews and then dropped a bomb on us.

"We're going to start the school year off with sexual education!"

Everyone started to giggle. I did too, until I looked behind me.

There was the boy! THAT boy!

I was suddenly SO embarrassed. This couldn't be happening. Not with everything else that had been going on, he was in health too?

"Now, does anyone want to talk about how babies are made? You all probably know how it happens?"

"Yeah, a guy and a girl get together and hit it like on those channels that you have to pay for on cable," Someone said in the front.

Everyone giggled.

Well, that's not ALL it is...it's emotional, yes, but it's very scientific as well. One of the miracles of science. Flip open your textbooks to page twenty-four. I want to start talking about the cell..."

My mind wandered. All I could think of was that cute boy two rows behind me.

"Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone stared back at her.

"Well, good. I expect you to do your homework and have it ready next week. Answer all the questions at the end of Chapter one."

More embarrasment followed as I left the classroom. Someone bumped into me and I dropped my stuff all over the floor.

"Oh, my bad," A deep voice said.

I looked up.

It was HIM!

"Oh, uh, sorry. Rachel? Is that your name?" He asked, his green eyes sparkling.

"Yeah...that's me."

He handed me my health book.

"My name is Derrick."

We stared at each other for a second. His eyes started to sparkle.

"It's nice to meet you, Derrick,"

"You too,"

"Well, I have to go now." He hurriedly put his backpack on and he started walking towards where the bathrooms were.

_Ok, that was strange._ _Why is he going to the bathroom?_

"Yo Rae?"

I turned around. Becky was at the other side of the hall.

"I knew that's what you people responded to."

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" I asked her.

"Who do you think YOU are? You just can't come walking into my school with your terrorist parents, build a new gym, and think that you own the place."

"I'm not trying to do anything but go to school. And my parents AREN'T terrorists. They're the only reason you're free to even think in your twisted backwards way."

"My parents aren't war criminals. So who is from the backwards family?" She smirked.

"What did you say? You shut your mouth!" I yelled.

Now people had formed a crowd around her. Derrick ran up to me, but I saw Tanya hold him back.

This was between us.

"And I could almost forgive your Dad, if he hadn't made a dirty mutt-"

THAT WAS IT. I didn't know what came over me, but NO ONE made fun of my family or me. The next thing I knew, I socked her in the nose.

She grabbed me and tried to throw me against the lockers. I managed to slip away, but she still got me down on the ground.

"Half-breed!" she yelled at me

"White trash!" I yelled back.

We were still rolling around on the ground when I could hear Principal Chapman walk up in her high heels.

"WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?" Behind her were two school cops. They separated us. I could see that Becky had a bloody nose and was bleeding from the mouth.

"Both of you in my office. NOW."

We sat in her office, staring at her from across the desk.

"Do I even WANT to know how this started?" Principal Chapman asked.

"You know what, I don't even care. Fighting is NOT acceptable in any circumstance. Do you two hear me?"

"But she was making fun of my parents and my race!" I complained.

"I don't care if she was making fun of your entire family. There are other ways to settle issues than with your fists."

She turned to Becky.

"And you. We've had these discussions before. Racism is not acceptable at this institution."

She threw up her hands.

"I don't know what to do. You both are at fault here."

She looked at me.

"I am very dissapointed in you Ms. Berenson. I want you to wait in the Assistant Principal's office while I call your parents."

I followed the school cop to another room. Principal Chapman was sort of screaming at Becky or whatever her name is.

_Dumb idiot_, I thought to myself as I thumbed through some magazines on the table.

After I while, the door opened and I looked up.

It was Mom.

And she did NOT look happy.

"Rachel. WHAT is going on?"

I'm sure Principal Chapman already told her, but I decided to tell her my side of the story.

"Well, that girl was insulting you and Dad and I was trying to defend you...then she started making fun of me,"

"Rachel, that is NO excuse for putting your hands on someone." she lectured me. Principal Chapman turned to face me.

"I talked with your Mom, and she thinks my punishment is appropriate. Your disciplinary record from your former school is nearly spotless, and since you are a new student, I have decided to give you detention for one month. You will be able to practice, but not play for the Basketball team for the first month of the season. But if you get into another incident young lady, I will have no choice but to suspend you from school. As it is, I think you should take the rest of the day off. "

"Thank you Melissa. I really appreciate the way you handled this. As for YOU, Miss, you're coming home with me. Let's go. Now."Mom took my hand and led out of the office, past Becky.

She gave me the finger. I stuck out my tongue. We went out the back way so no one would see us.

My stuff was already there.

"Oh, don't worry, I've already fired your bodyguard." Mom's sentences were very short. Clipped.

I'd never heard her so angry before.

When we got in the car, Mom started to look at me.

"Just look at yourself, Rachel. This is why fighting is stupid."

I looked up in the rear-view mirror. I had a black eye and a busted lip. There was even some blood on my shirt.

I could never face anyone at school again.

"You think that's bad? The girl you fought with, you broke her nose and knocked out one of her teeth! You're lucky the two of you weren't arrested." Mom continued to chastize me.

"But I was just-" I tried to explain

"But nothing. We'll talk when we get home. With your father."

* * *

When we walked in the house, Dad was in the family room, watching Nick Jr. with my little sister. They were practicing letters.

"A for Apple!" She yelled.

"That's right, Apple! Melissa, you're learning fast."

Mom cleared her throat.

"Oh, you two are home early. What's going on?"

"Maybe Rachel can tell you," Mom said sternly.

"I got into a ...disagreement with a girl at school."

"More like a knock-down, drag out brawl with her." Mom shook her head.

"RACHEL! I don't believe this! What in the world would cause you to fight somebody?" He turned off the TV and looked at me.

The vein was popping out of his head again.

"She was making fun of me. She called me a "mutt" and a "half-breed". She also was saying that it wasn't the Yeerks' fault for the war and that the two of you were war-criminals,"

I saw something flash inside of Dad, for a millisecond. Understanding. I thought he was going to be on my side. But then he let me have it.

"Rachel, your mother and I have worked VERY hard all our lives to instill certain values in you. You always have to be the bigger person, no matter WHO is trying to bring you down."

"But-"

"But nothing Rachel. Your behavior has been out-of-control for the past few weeks and your mother and I are sick of it."

"Whatever." I went back into the kitchen

"Don't you walk away from me, Rachel." I heard him wheel after me.

"Turn around and look at me. LOOK AT ME." He yelled.

I looked at him. He didn't look as upset as he was tired.

"People are going to say things about you ALL the time. Things about us. It'll only get worse as you get older, believe me. But if you go around hitting everyone you argue with, you'll be in jail for the rest of your life. And you won't solve any of your problems."

I folded my arms over each other.

"What about what she said about the war?"

Dad sighed.

"You leave that to us. But don't forget, without the war, none of you kids would be here. Now go upstairs."

I frowned and went up the back stairs to my room. I will say this though. One of the great things about living in an old house is that you can hear almost everything

I put my ear to the floor. My room was right about the family room.

"...What are we going to do, Jake? This type of behavior, I've never SEEN it from her before. I thought you were being overprotective, but maybe you do have a point."

"It's because we've given her too much freedom. We've spoiled her. We should have let her grow up as a normal child." I could hear him grumble.

"Jake, she's not normal."

"Okay, her parents are Animorphs. That's not-"

"Not that, Jake. You know what I mean."

"She's half-mom, half-dad. Just like everyone else on Earth."

I had to crack a smile at that. I know Mom was probably rubbing her head.

Dad had a hard time "seeing" those types of things.

"Look, I'll try to see if we can have a child psychologist see her. I am really concerned with her well being."

"You do what you think is right Cassie. I still say we should ground her for a little while. Make her work in the barn. She'll straighten up." Dad told her.

"Fine, I'll go tell her."

I could hear footsteps. I pretended to read on my bed as Mom opened the door.

"Rachel, we've come to a decision. You're grounded for a month. Every day after school you have to go help out at the clinic. And I'm going to take you to see a friend of mine, Dr. Wilder.

Mom came over to hug me.

"Just know I'm doing this because I love you,"

_Yeah. I bet._

"Let me get something for your wounds,"

I watched her walk out and heard her down the hall with the first aid kit yet again.

Then I saw a big swirling flash of bluish-white light.

I screamed, then everything went blue.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I freaked out.

My room, and outside, was swathed in dark blue light.

I couldn't hear Mom down the hall at all.

_What is going on?_ _Where am I?_

"Hello Rae,"

I looked up to see light blue and white lights materializing out of thin air.

Then, a teenage girl appeared transparent to me.

She had blond hair and warm blue eyes. She was tall, maybe 2 or 3 inches taller than me. She was extremely pretty, yet she looked familiar, VERY familiar. There was something about her eyes.

"Come on Rae, don't you recognize me?" She asked.

I scrambled back onto the bed. "Stay away from me. I don't know what's going on but-"

"Rae. I'm not going to hurt you. I've been watching over you since the day you were born. Lord knows my thick-skulled cousin needs all the help he can get."

I squinted my eyes.

NO WAY. NO FREAKING WAY.

"You're...you're Rachel? My cousin Rachel? Mom's best friend-"

"Yeah, yeah. Kid. It's me. THE Rachel."

I slowly put my hand through her image.

"Uh, Rae, what are you doing?" She looked slightly annoyed with me.

"Looking for wires. This has to be some prank Dad is playing to 'set me straight',"

"Do you see any?" I shook my head.

"This is no prank. This is dead serious. Just look around. Do you see your Mom or hear your little siblings?"

She was right. The house was eerily silent.

"So if I'm not home, where am I?"

Rachel floated closer to me.

"You're on another plane of existence."

"Am I dead?" I was REALLY scared now.

"No, definitely not. It's just that, I can't cross over to your plane of existence. So I had to bring you to mine."

"You have the power to do that?"

"No...but it was given to me by..." she cocked her head. "An old friend."

"So is another plane like parallel universes? We study those in school."

"Not exactly. Only the living can fully enter into universes. Anyway. I'm here to show you something."

She floated me down the stairs to my now-abandoned home. Outside, I could see six golden threads high in the sky.

I could feel myself levitating upwards until I was even with those strands. Then I recognized what they were. They looked like movies. People were sleeping, eating, going to school, playing in the arcade, walking in a mall, taking care of animals.

Cousin Rachel read my mind.

"Yes, they're exactly what you think they are Rae. They're lives. In this case, they're our lives. The lives of the Animorphs. Or in my case, they were."

I noticed that one of the lines flickered out suddenly.

"Yeah. That's me. But don't be upset. It's peaceful here. But while you're looking," She pointed to two of the other lines. They were intertwined, and then they fell apart. But a little later, one sprouted a new line and the original lines came back together.

"Those were..."

"Your parents. You came from them and got them back together. It took long enough," Rachel snorted.

"That's not MY fault," I said.

"Your right, it's not. Jake, I swear..." she sighed.

I giggled. It wasn't just me that thought my Dad was stubborn.

"This is pretty cool Cousin Rachel...but what does it have to do with me?"

"I'm just here to show you that you've been blessed with amazing gifts. I can't reveal those gifts to you just yet, but I want to show you something else."

She pointed down to the other part of the sky, where my lines intersected with five others.

"The six of you will use your gifts to do special things."

"What kind of things?"

"I can't tell you, but Rae, everything happens for a reason."

"Wait! What does that mean?"

Before I could ask, I felt myself slipping out of the fog of that plane and was back in my present reality.

Time had not passed at all.

I touched the bed, then the window. It was back to being a normal, Southern California sunny day.

Mom came back into the room.

"Rae, what are you doing? Please tell me you aren't jumping out the window."

_Should I tell her?_ _Nah._

"No I was just looking at the cornfields." I lied. Mom raised an eyebrow and patted my bed.

"Sit down, I need to fix you up."

I came over to her and she started to clean up my wounds with cotton balls and alcohol.

"Ouch! That stings!" I yelped.

"Bullies you can handle, but not rubbing alcohol?" she asked.

"Ow! No!"

"Then you shouldn't fight at all. Your cousin Rachel-" she stopped herself short.

We looked at each other for a second.

_If she had known where I was..._

"But Mom. You guys KILLED people. I just got into a little tiff."

"That's how it starts Rae. A little tiff. Then you start getting addicted to the rage." She put the cotton balls down and then put two ice packs on my lip and eye.

"And our situations were completely different."

"Yeah, you were the Animorphs."

She stopped with the ice pack. I pouted.

"Rae, you _know_ that isn't the case and I'm not going to get into it with you right now. Now keep those ice packs on for 20 minutes, and then take a break. Join me, your father, and Melissa for lunch once the swelling in your lip goes down."

* * *

The next day, I had detention after school. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I did see a lot of familiar faces. Tanya was sitting behind me, passing notes about the big fall dance they were going to throw at school a couple weeks from now. Derrick was also there, he was about three rows up, next to a short Japanese boy who was sketching something on his notebook. Becky was on the opposite side of the room, arms folded and staring at me. It seems like our fight had started a bigger one later, and Tanya and Derrick got involved.

_Let her stare. I could care less._

The rest of the kids in detention were a mix of jocks, emos, and people who looked like they did a lot of drugs.

_Hopefully this will not last long._

I was missing basketball practice today for this. Though I wasn't sure I wanted to stay on the team. It was just that, everyone expected me to be like my Uncle, some superstar, and I didn't know if that was for me.

Anyway, an old woman that looked about ninety waddled into the classroom with a cane and wrote her name on the board.

Ms. Bailey.

For the next two hours, it was her job to babysit us.

As Ms. Bailey sat and read, Tanya passed me a note.

_Are you going to go to the dance?_ It read.

_No way. My parents already think I'm the Spawn of Satan. I'd have to be out of my mind to think they would let me go to a dance. _I wrote back.

_So lets throw our own. My brother is a DJ. Why don't we use your barn? _She slipped me another one.

_It would have to be a weekend when my parents were away, but I'm sure we can do it. _I passed the note under the seat.

_Cool. Let's talk when we get out of detention._ She smiled and pretended to do busywork as Ms. Bailey started to gaze in our direction.

I had to worry about my Social Studies homework. It required me bringing in something from the War that was important to my family.

_I need to check out Dad's old army stuff, I'm sure I can find something good._

After what seemed like a short time, detention was over. I walked out with Tanya to my locker.

We were talking about the logistics of the barn party when someone surprised me.

"Uh, Hi Rae."

It was Derrick. And the Japanese boy. He was carrying a skateboard and had on some killer BAPE sneakers.

" Rae. This is my boy Jon. Jon, this is Rae."

"Hi!" he shook hands with me.

"It's nice to meet you, finally. Derrick talks about you a lot." Jon smiled as he said it to me.

I could see Derrick blush a little bit. My heart started racing.

Tanya saved the day. Her cell phone went off.

_PHEW._

"Well, does anyone need a ride home? My Mom just called. She's outside."

I shook my head.

"No. My Dad is coming to pick me up today. He'll freak if I'm not outside waiting."

"Yeah, I have to be gone too. A Bunch of us are going to shred on the fountain outside the mall."

"We're going to hit the arcade later on, rite?" Derrick gave Jon a pound with his fist.

"Absolutely." Jon ran in front of us as we walked, and when we got outside, he jumped on his skateboard and went down the street, out of sight. Tanya also waved goodbye and ran out to her Mom's car.

I saw Becky leave the school too, but she walked over to the bus stop. I guess her parents didn't have a car.

"Don't worry about her, she's stupid", Derrick said. "She's been a pain ever since she transferred in here last year." he placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him and adjusted my backpack. He gathered his saxophone case and his backpack and escorted me out to a bench in front of the school.

"So, Tanya told me you um, jumped in the fight too,"

"Of course I did. You know, she insulted me too. Well, half of me anyway."

"Wait a second. You're mixed too?"

Derrick chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm mixed. My dad is Black and my Mom is white. Italian, actually. The opposite of you, I guess."

"That's really cool. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one here."

Derrick smiled again. His was so sweet it almost melted off his face. It made me swoon inside. I was trying my best to keep my composure.

"Yeah, this place is pretty, um," he went on to say.

"White?" I offered.

"Bingo. That's why I get along with Jon so well. We're both...different from most of the kids here. And so are you."

"In a bad way or a good way?" I was curious. So many people tried to be my friend in the past just because my parents were Animorphs.

"Definitely good. I mean when they told us you were coming, I was expecting, like, one of those Hollywood types. But you aren't like that at all. You're so chill and down to earth. I like that."

I took a longer look at him. His curly hair was spiked so it came up off the top of his head. Although he was almost my color, he had a nose like the ones on busts of Roman emperors.

Derrick was not like other guys. He was sweet. And very cute.

That thought made me smile.

"Though it is better than when my parents were here," I finally admitted. "It was seriously like, Mom and Uncle Marco. And Timmy. Can't forget Timmy." I joked.

Derrick laughed. His green eyes sparkled at me again.

"Let me show you something cool,"he pulled out his saxophone."I've been playing for two years."

"That's awesome. How does it work?" I asked him.

"Well, you take a reed." he handed me one fresh out of a pack. "Then you put it in the mouthpiece and blow into it gently. Use your fingers to play the keys."

I blew, but nothing came out.

Derrick got up and placed one hand on my back, and the other on top of my hand.

"Now just take a deep breath-"

"RACHEL!!!!!" A VERY familiar voice screamed.

_Uh-Oh._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"RACHEL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?"

Dad pulled up to the curb in his special blue truck. I assumed he had just come back from Physical Therapy, so his muscles were bulging. When I was little, Mom and I used to call him Batman. Now I really wish he would turn into a bat and go hide in a cave.

"Dad, Oh my god!" Derrick and I jumped apart.

"In the truck. NOW." He thumbed me over to the truck.

"I'm just trying to have a little fun-"

"Yeah Mr. Berenson. We were-" Derrick tried to explain.

"YOU. Stay away from my daughter. If I ever see you around her again, I'll make sure _you_ won't be walking again. EVER." He pointed at Derrick.

"DAD!" I yelled at him

"Rachel. TRUCK." He narrowed his eyes. Behind his glasses, I could see his good eye full of rage.

I gave Derrick a look that said "I'm so sorry," and I went into the car with my things.

Derrick picked up his sax and _sped_ off to the gym.

"What the heck was that?" he asked me as we rode away from the school.

"Dad. I was just having some fun after school. What's so wrong with that?"

"What's wrong? Rae, you were alone with a guy, that's what's wrong."

He made a hard left onto the byway that would take us to the farm.

"Dad, he's just a friend. He was showing me how to blow into a saxophone. You and Mom _wanted_ me to make friends, remember?"

"Yeah, he probably wanted you to-" he muttered under his breath and shook his head. "Listen to me Rae. You CANNOT, under any circumstances, put yourself into that kind of situation with a guy."

I blinked hard.

"Wait a minute, you think _Derrick_, of all people, would try to hurt me?"

"Not just hurt you. Rachel, why are you alone with a boy you barely know? He could take advantage of you."

I shook my head. He did not understand at all.

"There were two school cops by the entrance, they were watching us like hawks. I would never let anyone put their hands on me-"

"Just like you didn't let that Becky girl put her hands on you?"

I fell silent for a second. Why did he have to put her into it?

"Look Rachel, I'm not trying to be a monster. I don't want you to be hurt and suffer the consequences of some young boy doing-"

"What you did to Mom?" I spat out.

He got quiet for a few minutes. By the look of his face, that was beet red, and the vein popping out of his head I knew I had stepped in forbidden territory.

I wasn't a fool. I knew that Mom and Dad were young when they had me. Anyone could see, plus there was the fact that my little sibs were so much younger than me. Mom was seventeen, and Dad was eighteen when I was born. I also knew that Dad had to leave before Mom had me. To go save Ax.

"But that didn't mean that I didn't love your Mom. She and I had been through so much, Rae."

Dad said, interrupting my train of thought.

"Guys today, they're only looking for one thing. And it's starting younger and younger."

We pulled up to the farm. I could see Tommy and Melissa playing outside with My Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop.

Retirement to them meant coming in twice a week to do hard surgeries and to see if the place was running well. And to also dote over their grandkids. At least, the little ones.

Dad parked outside the garage and I hopped out the passenger door. He pressed a button and a ramp fell out of the truck onto the pavement.

"Hey Rae! Catch!" Tommy threw me a Mini-Basketball. I dribbled it through my legs and back to him.

"There ya go sport."

He smiled and grabbed at my leg.

"Rae, how come you don't play with us?"

Melissa looked up from the mound of dolls she was surrounded with and nodded.

"It's because your sister is a middle schooler now. A very busy girl. A step away from high school." Mom-Mom Alisha came over to give me a hug.

"That's not the only thing she's busy with," Dad piped up.

I crossed my eyes and broke out of Mom-Mom's hug.

"I can't believe this. Dad, you are ridiculous!" I stormed into the house.

Right away, I could smell Indian food. The wonderful smells coming from the kitchen must have meant that Mom stopped for takeout, thankfully.

"Hey sweetie. I didn't have time to cook tonight," She looked pooped in her lab coat.

"Don't call her sweetie. She's had enough of that today," Dad said as he rolled into the house.

"Wait a second. _Now _what's the problem between you two?" She looked at us both and put her hands on her hips.

"All I was doing was hanging out with a guy and Dad thinks I'm gonna end up barefoot and pregnant with three kids," I glared at him.

"Wait a second," Mom laughed a bit. "You were spending time after school with a young man?"

"Yeah, his name is Derrick-"

"That's not all they were doing" Dad cut me off.

"Dad. He touched my back for like, three seconds when he tried to teach me how to play the saxophone."

"The way he stared at you, he wanted to teach you something else-"

"Jake! Honestly!"

_Good, Mom was on my side._

"That's why I said Dad couldn't say anything because of what he did to you, to us."

Then mom swivelled her head and stared at me.

"Rachel! That is completely inappropriate! What happened between me and your father had nothing to do with you and this boy!"

She held a hand up to her head.

"Listen, just because I am a shrink, it does NOT mean I am getting in the middle of this argument between the two of you. You two need to talk to each other and work it out. Now, can you eat dinner together without ripping each other's heads off?"

Dad shook his head and went into the dining room. I shrugged and went into the kitchen.

* * *

After dinner my parents went out on the back porch to talk with my grandparents, I suppose. They left me alone in the house. It gave me the perfect opportunity to go look for something for my Social Studies class.

I went back down to my parents' bedroom.

_I'm sure Dad's footlocker has to be in here somewhere. _I looked under the bed, and then in his closet. Finally, I found it.

It was tucked away in the back of the closet.

I dragged it out and opened it. It wasn't locked.

There were many things in it. I saw a few different kinds of Army uniforms, neatly folded. There were rows of medals from a bunch of different countries. He also had pictures. One of him and Mom on a roller coaster. They had to be my age, at least. Another of six human kids. The Animorphs

There were also a lot of newspaper clippings from when the war was won.

Suddenly I didn't feel right doing this. I should have at least asked. But then he wouldn't let me anyway.

I dug deeper. There was a journal that looked almost two hundred years old, it said, Isaiah Fitzhenry on the cover. I passed. I needed something about my Dad, though I'd come back for that later. Finally, I thought I found something.

It was the second book he wrote.

The first was almost required reading nowadays. My parents would let me read his first one, but not this one. They said I needed to be older to understand just why everything happened the way it did.

But this, this was too good to resist. I had an author's first edition, as well as an original manuscript.

I picked it up.

_This will definitely work._

I repackaged everything as well as I could and I tried to put it back in the exact place it was. As I tried to hustle out of their room, I heard my Dad coming up the hallway. I couldn't avoid contact with him, so I hid the book and paper behind my back.

"Rae, what are you doing back here?"

"I was, um, going to the bathroom?" My voice got shrill, like it always did when I lied.

"There's a closer one near the kitchen." Dad picked up on it right away.

"But, Dad, I..."

_Think, THINK._

"I need to talk to Mom about it. Girl stuff."

Dad looked incredulous.

"I'm not even getting involved in _THAT._ If you want to see her, she's outside."

He went back in his bedroom.

Thanking my lucky stars I got away, I ran upstairs and started to read the first page.

**How do you deal with the shock of fatherhood, when you never knew you got your ex-**

**girlfriend pregnant? And you're in a wheelchair? **

_Huh? I thought that they were together!_

**And you have to go from chasing intergalactic aliens to chasing a two-year-old?**

I pushed the book away. No. They had to be lies. Mom and Dad were together, weren't they?

I...I was wanted...

Or was I?

When I touched the book again, I got another vision. This time, it was like I was there, IN the

vision.

There was a fight going on, I could hear it from another room.

::"NO! Because you never listen to ME!" A man screamed. "You're always undermining me!

It doesn't matter what I say or do, it''s not GOOD enough for you. Or Rae."

"And this is the reason why, because ever since you didn't get that job you've been full of shit! And don't you DARE bring Rachel into this!"

"Why not! I'm a damn good father-"

"Yeah, when you FEEL like it. When you aren't moping around feeling sorry for yourself. She doesn't need that. Jake, Rae needs a father that will always be there for her. And puts her first above everything else!"

"Now you''re just lying! Wait, would Ronnie make a better father? Or would he be busy beating on you and cheating on you?"

"You SWORE you would NEVER bring him up again! But you know what Jake? If you don''t want to be with me, why don''t you just be a real man and say it? Let me move on. Let me have a healthy relationship and let me find a father for Rae that will never, ever, put her second to his own problems."

"You say that like you almost wish I wasn't her father."

"Sometimes, I think it would be easier if you weren't" she snapped back.

"Fine! Then get out! Get out of my house! Get out of my life!"

Then something weird happened. Something really weird. It wasn't me that was hearing this. Well, It was me, but not me as a twelve year old. Somehow I had projected my mind into my body as a two year old!

"I" ran into the bathroom.

"Mommy! Daddy! STOP!" I put my hands to my ears

"Rachel. Look. I need you to wait outside with Jordan and Sara. Ok?" Cassie kneeled down and tried to shield me from him.

"But Mommy and Daddy-"

"Rachel. GO!" I screamed.

I pointed at him.

"WED EYE!" I yelled. "WED EYE!"::

I took my hands off the book. I got returned to the present.

Funny, I didn't remember Mom and Dad being broken up, ever. Much less twice.

_But I guess there is a lot they aren't telling me. _


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

1 week later

(Rae)

I was still grounded.

But school was doing better. It didn't seem so big and scary to me anymore. Gradually, more and more people started to act friendly to me. Like Derrick said, everyone at school thought I was going to be stuck up because of who my parents are, or were. But I was just like them.

Or I thought I was.

I had been reading Dad's book the past week, and I was shocked.

I had no idea that Mom turned down Dad's marriage proposal after the war. Or that, Dad's life was a wreck outside of Xenowarfare. And Ronnie? I thought he was just one of Mom's platonic friends, no strings attached. They were engaged?

And that I...

How could they just have a one-night stand, and...

_Dad never knew about me?_

What the hell gave them the right to tell me how I could hang out with my friends, especially Derrick, if they were so irresponsible themselves. They were such hypocrites.

Ever since I found out, I tried my best to avoid them. Even if it meant missing out on family dinners and being silent on the ride into school.

I just couldn't believe they lied to me all those years.

It made the big project I was working on for school seem worthless. I didn't even want to do it anymore.

Mr. Turner's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Rachel? It's your turn to show off your project. We're all waiting."

I looked down at my desk. Dad's Legion of Merit medal was sitting on my desk. From his second war, saving Ax. I stole it from his footlocker later on that night, making sure I didn't get caught. As for the book, I tried to touch it again but I couldn't. My fear was that I would see that horrible vision again.

I didn't ask them anything about it. If I knew them, they would probably want to pretend that it never happened and that we were one big happy family.

As for the presentation, nervous was not the word to describe me. I was petrified. But one thought went through my head.

_How could my Dad be a brave intergalactic leader when he couldn't take care of his personal business on Earth? _

I walked up and handed the flash disk with my complete report to Mr. Turner (since the law to conserve trees) and I faced the classroom.

Tanya nodded her head at me. Becky rolled her eyes and stared out the window.

"This is the Legion of Merit medal awarded to my father, Jacob Berenson. As you all know, he was the leader of the Animorphs that successfully fought off the Yeerk alien invasion. But he did not receive this medal for that reason."

"But that was the reason you were supposed to bring something in, Rachel. I thought this assignment would be easy for you." Mr. Turner started to write something down on his sheet of paper.

Becky smirked.

_Shut up._

"Actually, Mr. Turner, this DOES have something to do with the war. This crazy alien called "The One," kidnapped Ax as a result of the Animorphs winning the war...my Dad," I picked up the medal...

* * *

...and was transported into another reality. This time, it looked like I was on a ship, IN THE SHIP, and I could see it colliding with this huge awful looking spacecraft that looked like, The Blade Ship?

In the ship, I could see it was abandoned, except for one person.

DAD?!?!?

What was he doing? The ship was moving faster and faster towards the enemy craft and then he cried out

"Oh Cassie, what have I done?" he whispered.

Then we suffered a VIOLENT collision. There was fire smoke all around! I started coughing and wheezing and...

* * *

I was back in the classroom, but I swore I smelled smoke on my clothes.

And something else was strange. People were in the same positions they were before I had that vision. Apparenly I was the only one affected.

"Your Dad did...who is smoking in here?"

I smelled my clothes, there was definitely smoke on them.

But Becky and Tanya started sniffing their clothes too.

I put the medal back in its case.

"Mr. Turner, I have to get out of here, I'm not feeling so well." I shook my head.

"But Rachel, you aren't finished." Mr. Turner said.

"I'm going to the nurse!" I half-lied.

I was actually going to call my father's father. I must be having some sort of brain disorder because this was NOT natural. Even as I ran through the hall, I felt woozy.

"Rae! Rae! Wait! I've been looking for you!" I turned around.

Derrick was speeding down the hall towards me, with Jon in tow.

I tried to focus on him, but the room started to spin around.

Luckily, Derrick caught me just before I hit the ground.

I woke up in the nurse's office. An older lady with a orange mullet placed an ice-pack on your head. "Are you all right there young lady?"

"Um, yeah, I just think I'm hungry from not eating lunch."

"Well, you were lucky your friend caught you before you fell out on the floor. I'm thinking I should call one of your parents-"

"No, please don't do that!" I begged. They'll think I started another fight. My Grandpa is a pediatrician. I'll go over to his house after school." I pulled myself up off of the examination table.

"Well, I guess you're free to go. I would definitely go over to your Grandparents' house after school though, young lady."

Jon and Derrick were out in the waiting area. They waited for the nurse to return to her office before they talked to me.

"Hey, we were looking for you. Something strange happened to the two of us. We were just sitting in math class, trying not to be bored-" Derrick started to say.

"That's what YOU were doing. I was trying to keep kids from copying my work. I don't see why they all do it, I have, like a D in Pre-Algebra-" Jon complained.

"Anyway, they next thing we knew, we were on this ship, it looked like a bug fighter from history class. And your Dad was standing there, as it was heading into that other ship, what was it called?"

"The Blade Ship-" Jon remembered.

"Yeah, the Blade Ship. And just before the ships slammed into each other, we were back here."

"But our clothes smelled like smoke, and Derrick's hair is singed."

Derrick pointed at his hair.

A little had been taken off of the top. But that made sense, because Derrick was the tallest of all of us, even taller than me.

"Oh-oh my goodness...I thought it was just me..." I leaned against the wall.

"Rae! Where have you been girl, we've been looking for you!" Tanya came around the hallway with...Becky?

The girl started to rant.

"Yeah, we had this awful daydream in Social Studies class, we were on this ship with..your Dad...when he was younger...and then it hit another ship and blew up! But when Mr. Turner asked about the smoke, we smelled it on our clothes. Then you bolted out of there like-"

"I saw it too guys. All of it." I cut her off. "And I really don't know what the hell is going on. All I know is, we need to find some answers. And we aren't going to find them here. We need to go to my house. My parents HAVE to have something on this."

I moved towards my locker.

"I'll call my Dad, and say we're working on a science project or something and need to use the clinic. I'm still grounded you know."

"But maybe if your Dad knew this was about the war, Rae, maybe he would un-ground you."

I stopped for a second to turn and look back on them. They had no clue.

"My Dad tries to forget about the war every single day of his life."

* * *

After school let out, Derrick and I ditched practice to meet up with the others at the pick up line. Luckily, Mom was picking me up from school today.

"Hi angel, how are...who are these people?" She asked as I came over to the car.

"Oh, Mom, these are my lab partners. We have to dissect a pig for science class, and I told them we could do it at the clinic," I lied.

She looked at me in a way that said "Are you serious?"

"Rachel, I don't think so. You are still grounded, and-"

I got in the car.

"So you would rather have me_ fail _science because you and Dad want to teach me a lesson."

"Yes."

"Oh come on!"

"Rachel, how can I instill any sort of values in you if you don't understand the consequences of your actions?"

I hung my head.

"Can I at least say goodbye?" I asked her.

"Yes. But make it quick."

I ran over to them.

"Meet met tonight a mile down the road from my farm. Dad is insane about security, so I'll have to sneak you in."

I was doing real homework and at about eight-thirty, I felt my cell phone start to vibrate. I didn't want it to ring and my Mom to hear it. It was Tanya. She text-messaged me to tell me she was outside.

I snuck out the back of the house and checked to see if the light in my parents' room was on.

It wasn't. Mom was probably in the family room, watching TV. It was Yom Kippur, so Dad was with his parents at Temple.

I took my bike from the side of the house and passed the bodyguards at the newly-built gate on the way out.

There were still traces of sunlight in the sky. I used them to find Jon, Derrick, Tanya, and Becky. They had all biked to the next farm up the road and were waiting for me.

"It's about time you got here," Tanya said.

"Yeah, yeah." I adjusted my bicycle helmet."You try sneaking out the house with Super-Mom watching your every move. Let's just do this. I have an idea."

We all biked back to my farm, then we got to the gate.

"Watch this," I put my thumb up to a touchpad. It recognized my print and the gates opened.

"Cool," Becky said, surpisingly.

"Yeah, when I told you my Dad was crazy about security, I wasn't kidding."

The bodyguards at the gate looked us over.

"Don't worry, they're with me. School project,"

They nodded their heads in agreement and let us past.

In the barn, I laid something important on a table.

"Cool. You know, I think it's amazing that we're really in Cassie's Barn." Jon marveled.

"Don't remind me. Now, I was thinking about this all day today, and I realized that all the visions seemed to be connected. Whenever I was near anything related to...the war, I would get a vision. I touched the barn door, I got a vision. I was in my room with my Mom, I got a vision. I touched this book" I pointed at the book, "I got a vision. And finally, the medal." I pulled the medal box out of my pocket. "Something big is going on, and if I've learned anything from my parents, I've learned that there is always a reason for everything supernatural."

"Rae, that's great, but why did WE get the vision today? We don't have any of this stuff." Derrick told me.

"There's only one way to find out, but I have my own suspicions," I motioned to the book. "We all got taken to the same place the last time, right? So maybe it will work again if we try and control the visions. Come on. What do we have to lose?"I put my hand on the book.

"Well, you're the leader with this alien stuff, Rae. I'm following you." Tanya followed me, putting her hand on the opposite side.

_But I'm not like my father._

Jon cautiously did the same. Becky shrugged her shoulders and added her hand. The only person who didn't was Derrick.

"Don't worry, Rae. I trust you."

Now I was really starting to like this guy. As in _Like._

He put his hand next to mine. As soon as he did, we were whirled out of the barn.

"Crap! What is happening!" I grabbed on to Derrick's jacket.

"I don't know Rae!"

We tried to look around us, but only wind and blue light surrounded us.

Finally we landed.

Someplace familiar.

The ghostly plane I met Cousin Rachel on.

In fact, that was the first 'person' I saw there.

"Hello Rae. I see you finally found them."

"Oh these guys? They're just my friends...and enemy,"

Becky narrowed her eyes at me.

"They're more than that, kid. They're going to help you save this universe as you know it." she said.

My jaw dropped.

"Look, I'm not my parents. Let's leave the alien-busting to them."

_I don't see why everyone compares me to them._

"What you have to do Rae, is beyond anything the Yeerks could ever do to the planet." Cousin Rachel said, while everyone else was shocked beyond belief.

"Is that REALLY your cousin?" Tanya asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes. That's her ghost."

"Man, I do NOT want to go to _your_ family reunion." Becky whispered.

"Becky-" I wanted to curse her out. I invited her to my home, had her join me in the ghostly plane, and she was still a **witch.**

Thankfully, a booming voice cut me off.

YES, SHE IS RIGHT. YOU FIVE WILL NEED TO POOL YOUR POWERS IN ORDER TO SAVE THE EXISTENCE OF THIS REALITY. OTHERWISE...HE WILL WIN. AND EARTH WILL BE NO MORE.

We all looked up. A figure materialized out of the void next to Cousin Rachel. He was gigantic. He looked human but his face was blue. A lot of white hair came from the top of his head.

"Who are you?" Jon asked.

SOMEONE THAT YOUR FRIEND RACHEL IS INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH.

"No I'm not. I have no idea what you are,"

YOUR PARENTS KNEW ME. RELIED ON ME.

"He's someone special to us. You too Rae." Cousin Rachel said.

JUST CALL ME ELLIMIST. I HAVE COME TO YOU FIVE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE KEY TO SAVING THE EARTH, AND THE UNIVERSE.

"But how? We don't have the morphing power." I pointed out. "And wouldn't you want to use Mom and Dad if you needed-"

He, or it, cut me off.

THEIR POWERS ARE NOT GREAT ENOUGH.

"So what is? Seeing flashbacks of my parents' life? That hardly seems-"

YOUR POWERS ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT, RACHEL. YOU FIVE ARE NOT ONLY WHAT ARE TERMED "PSYCHICS"-PRECOGNITICS IN THE HUMAN WORLD, YOU ARE THE FIRST HUMANS TO POSSESS THE ULTIMATE POWER IN MORTALS.

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MANIPULATE TIME ACROSS DIMENSIONS.

* * *

At the same time...

(Crayak)

DRODE, NOW THAT THE TEN REVOLUTION PACT IS OVER, WE CAN START ON THE MASTER PLAN. THE EMOTIONS OF THE WILDCARD ARE SUFFICIENTLY DISTURBED, CORRECT?

Yes Master. If all goes as planned tomorrow, she will damage her parental bonds enough for her to become vulnerable and unwilling to listen to good. Then the Ketran will have nothing to defend Earth with. Even the remaning Animorphs are not powerful enough to stop your plan.

AND FINALLY, I CAN ELIMINATE HER FROM THE GAME ONCE AND FOR ALL.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue me. Thank you.

(Rae)

"Wha wha wha WHAT? YOU are the Ellimist? I thought it would be someone who looked like God?" I marveled.

"God? Hardly. Just a higher-level being" Rachel said sarcastically.

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GUIDE YOU, SHOW YOU, THESE PAST TWO WEEKS. I NEEDED YOU TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR POWERS.

"But how is us being psychic going to save the world?" Tanya asked.

RIGHT NOW, THERE IS A VERY POWERFUL OPPOSING FORCE...WHAT IT IS PLANNING TO DO IS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF ANY EVIL THAT HAS COME BEFORE.

THE LEADER OF THIS EVIL AND I MADE A PACT TEN EARTH-YEARS AGO TO CEASE ATTACKS ON THIS PLANET, AFTER THE "ONE" ALIEN TRIED TO KILL THE REMAINDER OF THE ANIMORPHS, MINUS YOUR MOTHER, RACHEL. AFTER THEIR VICTORY, WE AGREED ON A MORATORIUM IN OUR...BATTLE.

"Now that the ten-year waiting period is over, this evil, Crayak, will stop at nothing to win. Even if that means breaking a few rules." Cousin Rachel explained.

"So, what, you want us to fight? To Turn back time?" I questioned them.

They were both silent.

"I was just joking..."

_Please say that this isn't happening again!_

"This is no joke, Rae." Cousin Rachel folded her arms over.

THIS EVIL PLANS TO ALTER THE PAST SO THAT THIS PRESENT, YOUR PRESENT, IS NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE. HE WANTS TO DESIGN A FUTURE WHERE EVIL PREVAILS. YOU MUST STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING BY GOING BACK IN TIME.

We all blinked at him.

YOU HAVE DONE IT BEFORE, EARLIER IN THIS DAY. YOU JUST HAVE TO FOCUS YOUR EMOTIONS, NOW THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR POWER

"Just trust it, and it will reveal what you have to do soon," Cousin Rachel assured us.

The Ellimist and Cousin Rachel's spirit started to fade.

REMEMBER, TRUST IN YOUR EMOTIONS.

* * *

Then we were back in my barn.

"Ok, what was that?" I shook my head.

"I'm still thinking that all of this is a dream, a joke, just not REAL!" Becky said angrily.

"Come on Becky, you know that those supernatural beings exist. They're in all the history books.

"But why us?" she whined.

Before I could answer, I could hear someone walking into the barn. Probably Mom. Dad would still be with his parents.

"Quick guys, hide!" I whispered. "My Mom is coming."

"But where? There are nothing but cages here-" Becky whispered back.

"Behind the haystack. Go. Go!"

They all ran to it just as Mom walked through the doors. I kicked the book behind another bale of hay.

"Rachel, what are you doing back here so late? It's almost ten at night!" She looked tired, but still had her stethoscope around her neck.

_That's Mom, always working_.

"Sorry Mom, I just needed to see if we had any pigs for the uh, science project."

"The pigs are over on the other side of the clinic sweetie. I guess I didn't tell you that when we moved back here."

_You didn't tell me a lot of things. _

"Come back in the house. We have to get up early. You know I'll be working late tomorrow night and so will your father."

Dad had editor's meetings late tomorrow. For his third book. Then they were going to spend the night...actually, I didn't want to think of my parents together like that. Gross.

"Sure Mom, I'll be right in," I lied.

She nodded her head.

"Don't forget to turn the lights off," she said as she walked out.

It didn't feel as bad lying to my Mom as it did before.

As soon as I knew she was gone, I motioned for everyone to come from behind the haystack.

"So what do we do, Rae?" Jon asked.

"Tomorrow, meet me back here. I'll try to go through EVERYTHING they have here. I'll just say we're studying. My Grandparents will be here, they're pushovers. They're in bed by seven for goodness sake." I looked directly at Tanya. "It'll be the perfect time to throw that party too."

She smiled. "No problem. I'll just e-mail a bunch of people and tell my brother to come over to this barn. You'll have the HOTTEST party. You just need to get rid of the hay."

She pulled some off of her.

"I'll work that out tomorrow. Now, you guys can sneak out the back and around the house. It'll take you back around and out of here without anyone seeing. When you get to the gate, you should be fine."

They all walked out and got their bikes, except for Derrick.

"You know, I'm behind you, no matter what,"

I smiled.

"Thanks."

We were silent for a second.

"I should probably go though. I don't want your Dad to catch us,"

"You're right. You never know about him-"

"Rae, it's ok. I'm sure if I had a daughter as pretty as you, I'd protect her too."

"Thanks Derrick,"

I walked him to the side of the barn.

"Take care!" I yelled.

He smiled and biked away.

* * *

"This party is great Rae! As my parents would say, it's 'off the chain'!" Tanya yelled over all the music her brother Jamal was playing on his really old turntables. They had to be from, at least the 80's. Right now, he had on some old-school Sean Paul Jamaican music from 2002.

A lot of kids from our grade were here, a LOT. Even Becky. I told them all to sneak through the woods, now that my parents were gone and the bodyguards out front would be on high alert. After everyone else left, we could start our research.

Still, there was a great turnout. I got Tanya and Derrick over earlier to help me clean up the barn a little bit. We transformed it from a hospital into a cool hangout spot.

Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop were oblivious. They just thought I had them over to help on my science project. They couldn't even check with Mom and Dad, who were downtown and would be 'unavailable' all night.

Jon was even in the middle doing tricks on his skateboard.

_Yeah, I'm going to be the coolest kid in school now!_

"Hey Rae," Derrick walked towards me

"Um, Hi."

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"Um, I'm not the greatest dancer...I didn't inherit rhythm from either of my parents." I admitted.

Derrick threw his head back and laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll show you," he took my hand.

I saw some of the girls looking jealously at me.

"Now, in order to break dance, you have to get on the floor and put your hands in front of you,"

(A/N: Did you REALLY think I was going to have them dirty-dance within 2 weeks of meeting each other? Pssh! Rae's not a whore, for goodness sakes.)

"Like I'm crab walking?"

"Yes. Exactly. Now you want to step your right foot over your left foot without getting up. That's called a 'six-step' or 'coffee-grinder' ". I tried to get do it, but I had no coordination and I fell over. Derrick and I both started to laugh.

"Don't worry, you'll get it. It just takes practice."

We were interrupted by Tanya.

"Yo Rae, there's some people out by the back, you might want to tell them to leave."

"Why?" I said, still laughing.

"They're smoking...and not just cigarettes." she told me.

Crap. If my parents smelled pot smoke...

I ran to the back, where a couple guys from the football team and stoners I recognized from detention. They were smoking weed and had beer cans in their hands.

I wanted a party, but not this type of party. They had to go.

"Excuse me, you can't do this back here!" I told them plainly.

"Why not Rae? We thought you were cool. It's just a barn," a stocky boy with red hair said as he blew out a plume of smoke.

"First of all, this is a vet hospital, not just 'My Barn', second of all, if my parents come back and smell pot in here-"

My thoughts were interrupted by a huge tiger's roar.

_Uh-oh. _

That had to be-

I ran back inside the barn. I saw a tiger chasing a bunch of kids around.

_No Dad, NO!_

"Rae!" I heard my mother yell. "Get over here NOW!"

Mom, Mom-Mom, and Pop-Pop were standing at the front of the barn.

I looked at Becky, Tanya, and Jamal. They were trying to get out of there as fast as they could. Jon ran past me. "I guess we'll have to do it later!"

As I came over to them, I saw Dad, as a Tiger, chasing Derrick around.

I told you to stay away from my baby girl! Dad yelled in thought-speak"

"AAHH! Oh my God! I'm sorry Mr. Berenson. I'll never talk to her again! Just, just don't kill me!" He ran past me, frightened as all creation.

After he chased Derrick out of the barn, he went back over to his wheelchair, demorphed, and got back in.

It was freaky the first time I remember seeing my parents turn into animals. I screamed and got very dizzy. I didn't understand they were the Animorphs

Now I would give anything to have normal parents.

"Rachel, get in the office." My mom pointed to the vet office next to some cages.

"Why, what did I do?" I knew it was a flat out lie, but I was really upset at them crashing my party!

"RAE! GO!" Dad yelled. There was no understanding this time. I could see it in his good eye. He wanted to kill me.

"Good grief child, have you lost your mind?" Mom-Mom asked. "We'll let your parents get a hold of you before we get at you for lying to us."

I walked in to the office. My parents were right behind us. Dad slammed the door.

"Sit down."

He pushed the office chair towards me.

I folded my arms and sat down.

"You know Rae, we've had it up to HERE with your behavior! You're acting so much like a spoiled brat it's sickening. And is that pot? Do I smell POT on you?" Dad growled.

"Maybe I'm just sick of living here!" I tried to defend myself. "And I wasn't smoking! I was trying to THROW out the potheads!"

"Like that makes it any better- " Dad scoffed. But Mom interrupted him.

"Face it Rae, we're not going back to Berkeley. You can be moody, avoidant, and as rebellious as you want. But it's not going to happen." She said.

"I don't have time for this-" I didn't want to hear any of her shrink psycho-babble.

"Just shut up and listen to me. It seems like every DAY there is something with you. Your behavior was totally out-of-line before, getting into fights, sneaking around with boys, but this? You LIED to your grandparents to throw a party WHILE GROUNDED?" Dad knocked "Maybe all our attempts at disciplne has had no effect on you. Maybe you need some tough love. I'm thinking Military school would be up your alley." Dad roared. He was pissed off. I'd never seen him like this.

Military school? Now he had completely lost his mind.

"Dad, that's ridiculous. You are being completely-"

"RAE. STOP. TALKING." Dad yelled.

"I'm not going to stop! How dare you guys! You all are complete hypocrites!" I spat out.

"Rachel," Mom started to say in her understanding way.

"No, Mom I don't get it! I don't! How can you stand next to him and defend him? Especially after what he did to you? Yeah, Dad gave you a LOT of tough love. I read the book." I was on a roll. I knew what I was saying was painful, but it kept coming out.

They froze in place.

"You WHAT?" Dad screamed. "That book is completely off-limits for you! You know that!"

"Yeah, because it has the truth! You both lied to me! You were broken up! Dad, You didn't even know I was alive. And Mom, you wanted to abort me!"

"Rae, we only did that to protect you, we didn't want you knowing-"

"What, the truth?"

Dad was glaring at me. Mom looked away.

_She's probably ashamed. Of me, of this whole situation._

"Rachel, that book isn't the whole truth. And it isn't the reason that we're mad at you."

"Well it's the reason I threw this party! I'm sick of being the 'daughter of the Animorphs' I'm sick of being protected my whole life! I just want to be normal!"

"Well, you can't Rachel. In this family, there are expectations-" Mom tried to explain

"Screw that!" I yelled.

"Excuse me, watch your mouth!"Mom yelled back.

Wow. Mom never yelled. She must be as mad as Dad is.

I could feel tears rising in my eyes.

"Just tell me this. Am I a mistake?" I asked them.

They didn't say anything.

"AM I?" I yelled.

"Rae-", Mom said.

But it was too late. I already knew how they felt.

I pushed past them and ran out of the barn, with tears in my eyes.

"RACHEL NICOLE BERENSON YOU GET BACK HERE!" I heard Dad scream.

I didn't want to hear ANYTHING from him or Mom. I wanted to go to the only place people loved me.

My bike was chained to the side of the house. I got it and my helmet and started pedaling away from the farm.

Tears streamed down my face. I had to get away from there. I hated Mom and Dad, HATED them. And not just for ruining my life.

Maybe they did it by getting back together. Who knows, I might have done better with a different family. Or maybe it would have been better if I was never born at all.

I tried to navigate my way through the woods, but it was getting very dark outside. Plus, I could feel raindrops starting to pelt my back.

I moved as fast as I could, until I was sure we were off my family's land. Then I got back on the main road.

The rain was coming down harder now, making if difficult to see.

I pedaled as fast as I could, and eventually I was near the development where Grandma and Grandpa lived. Then I was shocked. By a vision.

I saw myself, pedaling, but then a big truck sideswiped me and-

-I was returned to the present.

_Oh no, not again!_

But then I was spooked. That stretch of road looked a lot like the one I was on right now. A chill went off the back of my neck.

I started biking again and I saw that truck!

"NO!" I yelled. I veered off the road, just as the truck started to spin out of control.

BOOM! I was blown back by the force of the force of the explosion into a ditch. The heat from the explosion singed my clothes.

I coughed and coughed. The gas fumes from the truck were making me dizzy. I tried to stand up, but I slipped into the mud. I looked down, and my left sneaker was missing. My left pant leg was also soaked. I felt down and saw blood.

That was NOT good.

My left arm was also hurt really badly. It was very swollen. I steadied myself to get up, and climbed back onto the road.

_I have to see Grandpa Steve._

I looked around. There was a gas station and a strip mall. I wasn't too far from their development.

When I got there, I was barely conscious. Limping there made me tired, and the blood was soaking through my clothes. But everytime I closed my eyes, I could see Cousin Rachel, leading me there.

Finally, I got to the development. There was no guard on duty so I could sneak right in. Everything was starting to look very familiar. I found their house in no time.

I knocked on the door three times. Grandma and Grandpa opened up the door in their night clothes. But it was hard to focus on them. My vision was going.

"Help me" my voice trembled. "Abba,"

Then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Animorphs. Don't Sue. Thanks!

(Crayak)

I stared into the void. It was time for the first move.

AWAKEN. EDRISS.

The Yeerk, that most noble Yeerk, started to materialize, with so much force that the void itself gave the perception of moving.

Then, she returned to me.

She seemed surprised.

Master, where am I? How am I alive?

EDRISS, DO NOT BE BOTHERED WITH THAT RIGHT NOW. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE. YOU AND ESPLIN. I WILL INSTRUCT YOU ON THE SPECIFICS, BUT RIGHT NOW, I NEED YOU TO ACCOMPANY DRODE TO THE CAPITAL OF THAT DESPICABLE NATION, WASHINGTON D.C. . FROM THERE, HE WILL GIVE YOU A TARGET, ALONG WITH A PORTABLE KANDRONA.

But why, master? Why? I thought the game was lost!!

ESPLIN, YOU SHOULD KNOW AS WELL AS ANYONE, THAT THE FUTURE HAS MANY POSSIBLE OUTCOMES. THIS TIME, IF WE WIN, IT WILL BE PERMANENTLY IN OUR FAVOR. DRODE!

I yelled for that semi-competent brute. Sometimes I do not know why I keep that prune around.

Yes master?It materialized in front of me.

THE PLAN IS READY TO COMMENCE. TAKE THE FORM OF THAT WHICH WILL CAPTURE EDRISS'S HOST.

Drode pulled a morphing act himself, changing his prune-like body into the form familiar with most.

The director of the FBI of the United States of America.

EDRISS, ARE YOU READY?

Yes, Master. I am willing to do whatever you ask.

THEN INFEST DRODE. I WILL TRANSPORT THE BOTH OF YOU BACK TO EARTH, WHERE YOU WILL INFEST THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES. THEN, YOU WILL FREE ESPLIN AND USE HIM TO INFEST THE DIRECTOR OF THE CIA. I NEED YOU THREE TO DISRUPT THE LIVES OF THE REMAINING ANIMORPHS ON EARTH. I WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST.

Drode followed my directions and inserted Edriss into its brain.

THERE IS A PORTABLE KANDRONA IN ESPLIN'S CELL. MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE NOTICES YOUR PLAN AT ALL.

Then I watched my last hope, my best hope for taking control of the present.

Now I needed to manipulate the past.

You know, Drode, this is all your fault. We would have won if you hadn't been so damn focused on exterminating the leader of those humans, Jacob Edriss was complaining in Drode's ear. Silly Minios. Did they really think I could not hear their thoughts?

Ha! And if you had told Esplin that they were really human children in the first place, this series of episodes- Drode retorted.

Oh, so everything is now my fault? Edriss was shocked.

Yes,

HA!

Quiet, Edriss, your host has arrived.

The Secretary of State walked in and sat down. She was a pretty woman, with light brown skin and curly brown hair.

"Hi, Madam Secretary." Drode was doing a very good impression, I had to admit.

"Hello Mr. Smith. What did you want to go over today?"

"Oh, just my plan to take over the universe, Karen."

The human's mouth dropped, but then Drode worked its magic.

I watched with pride as Drode captured the worthless human in a bear hug, and Edriss slid out of Drode and into the Secretary's ear.

_That's why I keep it around!_

The host formerly known as Karen stood up, blinked twice, and smiled.

"It feels nice to have a body again."

"Doesn't it, Edriss?"

"Where is Esplin, Drode?"

"In the state the Humans call 'Kansas'. He is under high survelliance, especially for the humans. I'm personally impressed. Hence the disguises. They think we're going to interrogate him."

Drode took her hand, and I watched them move along the universe to Esplin's prison.

The idiot soldiers did not question their human disguises and let them through. They met with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and were escorted to Esplin's special holding cell.

Then Drode acted swiftly.

He injected the director with a knock-out drug. Then, by sheer force of will, opened the purple box Esplin was encased in, without setting off the alarm. Then he inserted Esplin into the weak human' s brain.

Esplin immediately took control. I watched his host stand up, and stare at Edriss's host.

"Esplin?" She said after a moment?

"Edriss?" He marveled...

* * *

(Rae)

I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry, so I tried to focus.

The smell of Lysol stunk through the air. My vision became a bit better. I could see the flourescent lights raining their harsh light from the ceiling.

"Rae, oh Rachel, you woke up!" A worried voice said from the right. "Steve, she's awake!"

"Huh?" I was confused. As my vision cleared, I saw Grandma Jean holding my hand.

"Oh, don't you worry Rachel, your Grandpa is off talking to the doctor on call. They'll fix you up,"

My eyes widened and I looked down. I was not wearing any clothes, only the blue hospital jammies they give everyone.

"How did I end up here?" I wondered. "I was just at-"

"The house? Rachel, you passed out on our front step covered in blood!" Grandma brushed back strands of her gray hair and her face filled with worry. I could even see the fine lines around her eyes.

"And it's very lucky you came to us, sweetheart," Grandpa walked in with another doctor. "How are you feeling, honey?"

"I'm ok...OUCH!" My left arm was throbbing. I reached down to touch it, but it was covered in a hot pink cast.

"Your wrist is broken. And you might not want to look at your leg, We had to stitch that up as well. It was a pretty serious contusion. You lost a lot of blood. You're lucky your grandfather is a doctor. He saved your life. " The other doctor told me in a very serious voice.

I pushed down the thin blanket and peered anyway. Ugh. It did look horrible. Like there was a bunch of wires keeping my leg together.

"Your Grandfather explained to me what happened after you arrived at his house, but can you tell me what happened before?"

I shut my eyes.

I saw bits, pieces, flashes.

The party. The tiger chasing Derrick. The argument with my parents. Biking during the storm. The truck. Then, nothing.

"I can't really remember. There was this party...and then Mom and Dad...we got into it,"

"By got into it, did you have a fight?"

I nodded.

"Rachel, did they do this to you? Did they touch you?" Grandma put a hand to her mouth.

"If they did, there's nothing to worry about. Everything you tell me is confidential." The doctor said.

"I...I...they kept yelling at me...but I ran off. Dad couldn't chase me. The last thing I remember is a being on my bike, and then there was the truck-"

"Rae, follow my finger with your eyes." Grandpa said, holding up a pen.

When he was finished, the other doctor spoke.

"Yeah, it looks like you have a concussion too. Rachel. You're going to need to stay overnight for observation. But I'm more concerned with your parents. Steve, maybe I should call them."

"Not a problem," his pager rang. "They just arrived, actually."

Mom rushed into the room. Her eyes were beet red and her clothes soaking wet.

"Rae!"

Her jaw dropped.

"On no! My baby!" She ran over to me and wrapped me in a hug.

"Owww!" I protested.

"Rae we were so worried. As soon as you ran off, we tried to follow you, but then we came upon the truck...and when I saw your bike...I just lost it!" I felt her sob. "I thought you died!"

The sturdy sound of a wheelchair rolled onto the linoleum floor.

Dad was here.

I looked at his face. He still looked angry, but I could see lines of worry. Like Grandma's.

"How is she?" He asked the other doctor.

"Well, her leg injury was pretty serious Mr. Berenson, but she's going to be all right. She's had a slight concussion, and a broken wrist, but from what she was saying, it could be a lot worse. I was telling your father that I think she should stay overnight for observation-"

"Excuse me doctor, but instead of talking to my father about my daughter, next time talk to me, directly."

Grandpa started to say something, but the doctor cut him off.

"Well, actually, Mr. Berenson. There IS something I want to discuss with you and your wife. Please follow me down the hall."

Grandma squeezed my hand.

"Rest sweetie,"

I followed her advice and went back to sleep.

The next day, they released me from the hospital. Grandma helped me get dressed, while Mom helped me get in Dad's truck.. I guess they had all been waiting with me all night.

"Steve, we'll take it from here. Thank you for everything."

Grandpa kissed my cheek.

"Stay a good girl, Rachel."

Dad rolled his good eye and started on the drive off. There was a lot of paparazzi everywhere, but the cops did a good job keeping them away.

The drive back was very quiet. All the events of last night didn't hit me until we passed by where the accident. Seeing the burnt out shell of the truck caused a sharp pain in my head.

I squinted my eyes shut.

Luckily my parents couldn't see anything from the front seats.

When we pulled up to the house, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop were waiting outside. It was EARLY but I bet Tommy and Melissa were watching Saturday Morning cartoons on TV. Pop-Pop came up to the car as we parked.

"Goodness, Child, you scared me half to death."

Instantly I thought about his heart condition.

"I'm sorry Pop-Pop," I said softly.

"Here, take my hand. Your Mom told me you injured your leg."

"Thanks," He helped me out and carried me up to my room.

"Now, don't try any more dissapearing acts," He shut the door for some privacy.

I smiled and leaned my head back against the pillow. Pop-Pop was such a jokester. But a headache was starting to come on strong.

"Nnngh," I muttered.

I heard a knock on the door.

Mom came through the door, holding a tray.

"Rachel, are you awake?"

"Yeah Mom."

She opened my door. There was a tray with a teapot and oatmeal...

"Here. It's herbal. No caffeine for you. I also brought up some oatmeal for you to eat. There's two Tylenol, take them and I'll be back in a few hours with two more."

She pulled away my chair from my desk and sat next to my bed.

"Mom, I'm sorry-" I tried to apologize.

"Shh. Rae. You need to rest."

"Are you still mad at me?" I looked up at her.

"Yes. But, I-I think we need to talk about some things," she admitted.

"If it's about the barn, I swear, I'll clean it-"

"No. It's about something else. The nurse in the hospital told me that you got your period last night, along with everyone else."

I could feel my face flush red.

"You know, Mom, that's what health class is for-"

"You're becoming a woman, Rachel, and there will be serious consequences if you make the wrong choices." She interrupted me.

"Like you did?"

Mom sighed.

"It's not what you think Rae. I never let you read your father's book because I thought you were too young to understand what went on between us. But now I think you need to know the truth. The whole truth, not just your father's side."

* * *

13 years ago...

Cassie kissed Ronnie on the cheek. "Have fun at the Lakers-Kings game tonight."

"I''ll be back by tomorrow. L.A. will be too rough a ride to do on one night."

Ronnie kissed her back, and grabbed the keys to his Escalade parked outside. She hadn't been successful in getting Ronnie to ditch his gas-guzzler, but he had been supportive of her in every single way. He was almost like Jake……

She shook her head. No one could ever be like Jake. At least, not the way he was before the valley. Cassie locked the door and made her way down the hall to her master bedroom.

_I need a shower. A nice long one._

She stepped into the shower and tried to clear her mind. Today, while Ronnie and she were hiking. Jake stopped by to get the coordinates to Tobias''s valley. Poor Ax had been captured, and Jake was going to lead a rescue mission. But he wouldn't allow her to go.

Stay on Earth, live your life. She repeated those words over and over in her head. She did have a nice life. A top selling book, a great fiancee in Ronnie, endorsements with L.L. Bean and Roquefort, a beautiful house in Berkeley...but...

She cut the water off and slipped out of the shower, into her robe and slippers. And as if someone could read her mind, she saw a Peregrine Falcon fly by her window.

"It can't be…" she thought to herself.

She heard a rap on her door about a minute later.

_Don't open it._ A little voice in the back of her head quipped. She ignored it and went for the doorknob.

Jake was standing at the threshold.

"Hi," Jake said sheepishly.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Cassie said, a little surprised. By the way he was acting earlier today, she expected him to be gone by this point in time.

"I uh, I came to say, goodbye...We won''t be leaving until tomorrow..."

Now Cassie was starting to get mad. Not a word from this boy in almost a year, and now he wants to come in and talk?

"So? I'm going to go back to living my life. That''s what you told me to do, Fearless Leader. So you go and play hero. I''m going to live."

She started to close the door. Jake stood in the way, preventing her from doing so.

Cassie had made him mad. Furious. Nah, he was more than furious. He was pissed off. Cassie made him feel like dirt. All he wanted to do was say goodbye. He probably would never see her again, and she was this cold to him? Heh. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be in this situation. Tom...and Rachel... Goddamn her! She really was a bitch sometimes! But, in a strange way, that REALLY turned him on...

"Why do you make me feel like this?" he yelled.

"Jake, just go," She turned to leave.

"Don''t you walk away from me," he growled, grabbing her arm with power.

"Stop! Let me go!"

She was pinned to the now-closed door by him.

"What the hell, you arrogant son of a-"

She was cut off but one of the most passionate kisses she had ever experienced.

"Oh Jake……" she moaned when she was finally able to catch her breath, "Do it again," as she kissed him back, with all of the emotion that he had kissed her with.

All the years of anger, pain and frustration came out as they tore at each other's clothes on the way to her bedroom. When they finally got there, pretty soon, he was planting kisses all over her face. Then he stopped. Jake looked into her eyes. Her beautiful, warm, brown eyes. They made him want to melt into the bed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked sincerely while planting kisses all over her face.

Cassie kissed him, and took her engagement ring off her finger.

"I can't go back to him. Not after this." She placed it on the nightstand.

Jake took the time out to stroke her hair. Her face had this ethereal glow. It only highlighted her beauty.

"Jake, that was...it was..."

"Shh. You don't have to say a word." he hugged her close to him. God! He wished this moment could last forever.

"Jake, that was..."

He kissed her silent.

"You don't have to say a word."

"Just promise me this. Whatever happens next-" She rubbed his cheek.

"Whatever happens next, I'll always be there for you,"

She closed he eyes and leaned into his chest.

"Promise?"

"Promise,"

But they both forgot about the box of condoms in the dresser drawer.

* * *

The first rays of sunshine flittered into Cassie's bedroom. "Mmmhm," Cassie turned over and awoke in her bed. She felt for Jake. They had such a wonderful night last night. She knew she couldn't go back to Ronnie. She just couldn't. Jake and she had such a history together. And the sex!

_That alone is enough to make me dump Ronnie. Jake was even a gentleman with it!_

She got a surprise when she felt for the other side of the bed.

He wasn't there.

She blinked her eyes.

The bed was tussled, and her robe was near the door, but she was the only one there.

"Jake?" she got up and looked around the bedroom.

She didn't hear anyone.

Cassie gathered her robe and tied it around herself. She checked the bathroom, the living room, and the family room.

No Jake.

She stomped back to her room, FURIOUS.

She couldn't believe she let Jake PLAY her like that. She actually believed everything he was saying last night, that he was going to 'be' with her, that they could have a life.

_I should have known. Jake could never be 'my' Jake again._

When she got back to the room, she noticed something she hadn't seen before.

There was a note.

_Cassie,_

_I'm Sorry._

_-J_

She picked the note up and threw it against the bed. Then she started to feel sick.

Great. Just as my day couldn't get any worse... she thought as she hurled last night's dinner into the toilet.

When she was done, she slumped against the sink.

How could he do this to me?

* * *

3 weeks later...

"Hey Ron, can you pick up some more bananas at the market today? I really want a peanut butter, banana, and pickle sandwich for lunch," Cassie asked Ronnie as she was checking the contents of the fridge.

"Uh, sure, no problem. But that's a weird combo. Are you feeling well?" He came over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She gave him a half-smile. "You just don't be late for work."

"I won't." He kissed her cheek. She pulled away a bit. Ever since her night with Jake...she felt so, so.._.wrong_ being around Ronnie. If he ever knew what she did to her, he'd be devastated. And Ronnie didn't deserve that.

"So, call me when you get into work?" He asked.

"Yeah, definitely."

"Bye sweetie, luv ya," he grabbed an apple and headed out of the house to the office.

Finally...

Cassie ran back upstairs to the bathroom, where she left the pregnancy test on the counter.

The window showed a plus sign.

She dropped it in the trash.

No, it can't be.

She went over to the telephone in her room and picked up the receiver.

She had her doctor on speed-dial.

"Hello? Dr. Williams office."

"Hi, this is Cassie Branch, I just wanted to know if those results were in...great! I'll be right there."

Cassie put the phone back and went outside, hopped into her car and sped towards the doctor's office, ignoring many speeding laws on the way.

Thankfully, she didn't get pulled over as she pulled into the office. Cassie sped towards the desk and waited, ignoring all of the people who saw her only as Cassie, the celebrity, the Animorph.

Finally the doctor came outside and called her name. Cassie absentmindedly followed the clack of her high-heels. She had Texas-style blond hair with some white.

Cassie went into the examination room and sat down.

"Well, I have some great news for you. Your STD screening came back completely negative. But something else didn't," Dr. Williams handed her back some paperwork.

Cassie gripped the side of the examination table as she read the results.

"Congratulations! You're pregnant!"

_Oh no..._

The doctor kept on moving her lips excitedly, but Cassie couldn't hear any of it.

She was terrified.

After the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, she walked out of that doctor's room and drove home in a trance.

Ronnie and she hadn't touched each other in at least two months. There was no one else this baby could belong to. It had to be Jake's.

_That son of a bitch..._

She started looking for her suitcases.

She needed some comfort. And not from Ronnie. In an angry blur, she started throwing clothes into suitcases and gathering her personal effects, booking flights. Calling the office. She had to get out of here.

Finally, her cell phone rang on the bed. She checked the caller ID. It was her Mother.

"Cassie, sweetheart, I was in surgery. What's wrong? Is everything okay up there?" Alisha sounded worried.

"Mom, I need to come home." Cassie almost broke down right then and there.

"Anytime, honey. What's wrong?"

'I'll tell you when I get there." She hung up the phone. and looked at herself in the mirror. She definitely had that 'pregnancy glow' everyone was talking about. But her body hurt everywhere. Her breasts were tender, and her hair had gray in it!

_I need to tell him, I can't go on with him._

She spent the next few hours flipping through tv channels aimlessly. Then she saw Ronnie walking in the bedroom out of the corner of her eye.

"Babe, I got the pickles you wanted, they're in the fridge. What's wrong?"

He walked over to her.

"Ron," she bit her lip. "Look, I need to tell you something,"

She got up from the bed and touched his cheek. It was rough, maybe because he didn't shave last night.

"Look, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Ever since the beginning, after the trial, you've been my rock. But...I think I need some space...from you...from this. I'm only seventeen...I'm not sure if I'm ready for a marriage..."

"But Cassie,"

"Listen Ron, this has more to do with me than you."

_Jake was right._

"I just need to live my life, find myself. And after that happens, we can take it from there."

She kissed his cheek.

"I'm sorry."

She proceeded to move her things out of the house and into her car , with neither of them saying a word.

"Call me when you get in?" he asked.

She nodded silently and could do nothing but drive off. If she looked back, she might say something she'd regret.

She got to the airport, and got the first flight back home, down to Southern California. They were so nice at the airport, they were going to fly her car down for free.

_The perks of being a celebrity. But I just want to be left alone._

The flight attendant distracted her by offering her some free champagne. She declined.

_I suppose you shouldn't drink as an underage mother. _

She stared out the window. The clouds were so beautiful. It was like the angels were knitting them.

_I wonder if Rachel is there, if she can see me. She'd be so happy for me...but then I'd never hear the end of it from her for having unprotected sex. _

And how was she going to break this to her parents? They'd be furious. Even though she was a world hero, she was still their little girl.

Her stomach was jostling just like the airplane when it made its descent.

She could see familiar landmarks as they circled in for landing. The Tower...the destroyed Gardens.

A sense of peace came over her.

_Maybe I CAN do this. _

She waited for the plane to taxi and for everyone to get off. There were some paparazzi there, but airport security did their best to keep them and the crowds away. She had a police escort down to the luggage carousel.

Two familiar faces welcomed her.

Her parents.

"Mom! Dad!"

She ran over to them.

"There's my baby!" He dad picked her up."We've missed you so much! You have to tell us how everything is going!"

Her Mom had the police escort pick up her things and put them into John's truck.

Cassie filled her parents in on her job and her endorsements as they drove back to the farm. She was going to save the bombshell for when they got back to the house.

_They'll kill me. _

Her father pulled down that familiar country road, and Cassie saw the old familiar structures of her land.

Her house, practically the fourth family member.

And the clinic, never in need of money again thanks to Cassie's endorsement and financial gifts to her father.

With the Gardens under reconstruction, her mom and dad were both working full time at the clinic, and enjoying a return to a semi-normal life.

"Cassie, honey, we're here. Your Dad'll take your things into the house." Her Mom drove home the point.

After we got settled, Mom put on some tea and I poured a cup. Herbal. Just what I needed.

"So, how's Ronnie?" John asked.

I almost spit the tea out onto my business suit.

"We didn't mean to startle you, we...just noticed that he's not here with you. You two used to be inseperable." he continued.

"And, you're not wearing your engagement ring."Alisha softened her tone. "What's going on?"

Cassie swallowed and put her teacup down.

_It's now or never. _

"It happened...almost a month ago. Jake...he came to visit me before he left. Ronnie was with me in the park the first time...but the second time, he came to the house. And I was alone...we..."

She felt tears come to her eyes.

"We made love that night. Repeatedly. And When I woke up, he was gone." She looked out the window. "I have not seen or heard from him since. It's like he disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Cassie..." Her Mom's voice dripped with disappointment.

"That's not the worst part Mom...I started feeling sick soon after. I went to the doctor..." She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. "When I found out, I broke up with Ronnie immediately. I couldn't let him know..."

She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

Her dad paused, then got up slowly. John walked outside and started VENTING! Even the birds started to fly away he was so loud!

"That little punk! I swear if I see that white boy again, I'll kill him for knocking up my baby girl!"

Then he walked back into the living room and sat down.

"Cassie, how could this happen? I always told you to wait until you were ready to have sex, and even then, you ALWAYS have to use protection. Otherwise, things like THIS can happen!"

"They weren't thinking. That's the problem. I knew that boy just wanted to get into your pants. Even when he was younger. He was always over here, 'helping' you in the barn. We SHOULD have called Father Banion to talk to you two," He shook his head and put his hands on his forehead.

"John! For goodness sake!" She turned to Cassie. "What's done is done. You can't go back and change the past. When you and Jake decided to become intimate together, the two of you became responsible for the consequences of you actions. And I know you are hurting. I can see it in your face. But it is ultimately up to you to decide how you are going to handle this."

She looked into her mother's eyes. She saw disappointment, a LOT of disappointment. But she also saw concern. And pain.

"I don't know what I'm going to do Mom, I just don't know,"

The next week, she woke up in her old bed and looked out the window. The cornfields beckoned her. They were so gorgeous. Endless lines of green stalks as far as the eye could see.

Sometimes, when she thought about the pain of the war...she would look at the land...and understand the sacrifice. That's why she had to do this. She couldn't have this baby. Not now.

* * *

It had been a month. No one had heard from Jake, Marco, or the students they took into space. No humans, no Andalites. No one.

_I can't let it grow up never knowing its father. I can't do this alone._

Her appointment with Planned Parenthood was in an hour. She planned the appointment in secret. Even though her parents were not the most devout Catholics, they would never happily agree to an abortion. She took some old overalls and a T-Shirt out of her dresser and walked down to the bathroom.

As the water from the shower overtook her, she couldn't help but feel pangs of doubt. As she dried her hair, her tears started to fall again.

Damnit! Her emotions were all over the place! She had never felt like this! She slid down to the floor and let it all come out.

She couldn't be the only one left. The sole survivor. The last Animorph.

Pregnancy hormones or not, she couldn't bring herself to leave the room. She stayed, sobbing silently.

Knock Knock.

Her Mom opened the door.

"Cassie, it's almost noon. You've been in here for two hours." She gathered a towel from the back of the door.

"Here, this old bathroom is drafty." She placed it over her daughter's naked body.

Cassie didn't say thanks. All she could do is lean her head onto her mother's body.

"How can I raise a baby...when I'm the only one left..."

"Is that what you think? That you'll be alone, raising this child?"

"Mom, they're gone. All of them."

"You don't know that-" Alisha started to say.

"I just have this feeling..." Cassie's cries started again.

Alisha hugged her daughter to her.

" You have us, baby! This isn't like the war! You aren't alone anymore."

"So you're not mad?" She started sniffing.

"I didn't say that. Cassie...I always thought I raised you right, to respect yourself and your body. Even when I found out about all of this...the war...I was so proud that you never used it as an excuse to destroy your morals. I still can't believe that the two of you went off and did this. But I would never abandon you. Your father and I, if you choose to keep this baby, will be behind you one hundred percent."

Cassie took her mother's hand.

Maybe with their strength, she could continue with the pregnancy.

* * *

Present-Day

(Rae)

"Wait, so you didn't even go to the clinic?"

"No, I never did. I couldn't go through with it. I couldn't even leave the house."

Warm feelings flowed over my body.

"So...you wanted me after all."

"Sweetheart, how could you think any differently? You have to understand, I was going to be a teenage mom, with no father around to help me. All of my closest friends were dead, and I..I didn't feel that I could really trust anyone else, that my parents wouldn't want to help. Luckily, I was wrong."

"But what about Dad's parents?"

"Oh, they had a whole other reaction..."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

_Back to the Flashback, 13 years ago._

Cassie was now in her fifth month. Her tiny stomach now had a nice pregnancy bump. To keep her mind off of her emotions, she kept up her work with the Hork-Bajir, trying to get out to the valley as much as possible. But it was getting harder now. After her first trimester, she couldn't morph at all.

The Andalites never told her about THAT side effect. But pregnant morphers probably never crossed their minds.

Plus, in the last few days, she was having sharp pains in her stomach. At first, she thought it was the little one kicking. But lately, it'd been taking the breath out of her, draining her energy.

_Maybe something was wrong with the baby..._

She put on her overalls over her T-shirt and stuck her old work boots on her feet. She'd had the same ones in her closet since the beginning of the war. Smiling, she pulled them out and put them on her feet. Then she stood up and looked around.

A familiar picture was on her dresser. Two teens in a roller-coaster car, laughing at each other as the roller coaster was about to drop them down. She remembered this picture.

It was from the Gardens. Jake took her there for their second date.

For some reason, she never took the picture frame down, even after the war. It used to remind her of happier days. Now...

_I would kill him if I had the chance._

Her hand shook as she touched it. Instantly, she could feel the pain returning to her abdomen. Cassie clutched her stomach as she fell to the carpet. The waves were so intense, she felt like someone was stabbing her to death.

"Mom, Dad!" she cried out.

Her parents came rushing into the room, still in their pajamas.

"It's my stomach..." she put her hand over it.

"Can you get up?" her father asked.

She shook her head. "It hurts too much,"

"I think we should take her to the hospital," her mother nodded her head in agreement. John picked her up and carried her gently out of the house to their truck.

"I'll drive. You just make her as comfortable as possible." Cassie's mom took the keys and they made their way to the ER.

Mostly because of her celebrity, she was seen right away by the doctors. They took her to the examination room and ran some tests.

The rest of the morning was waiting, waiting, and more waiting. They drew blood from her and the fetus and stuck an IV in her arm.

After what seemed like forever, the doctor came in.

"Hi, Cassie, Dr. and Dr. Branch. I'm Dr. Rodriguez." he closed the door.

"What's going wrong, Doc?"

"Well, there's no easy way to say this but-"

_I lost the baby?_

"- it looks as if you have an Rh Sensitization to the baby that you are carrying. The red blood cells your baby is making are being destroyed by your immune system. If we don't intervene quickly, the unborn child could die."

Her mother held up a hand to her mouth in shock.

"But this is her first child! I thought that this disease was more common after the first pregnancy.,"

"Well, the father of the baby must have a positive blood type, because your daughter is O negative,"

Cassie was confused.

"Wait, my baby has a positive blood type? How did that happen?"

"Well, it's more common to see this when the baby is of biracial or multi-racial descent. We ran the DNA of your baby, your daughter is fifty percent Caucasian. "

Cassie closed her eyes and leaned back against the thin hospital mattress.

_A girl. I'm going to have a little girl._

"As it is, we can give her an intrauterine blood transfusion, but the baby would be best served with the blood of the father himself, or a close relative. You'll need a transfusion every month until the baby is born. After the procedure, I can start scheduling you. Your blood sugar was also dangerously high. Especially on an empty stomach. We ran some more tests and we also believe that you have gestational diabetes. It's common in young pregnancies..."

Cassie started to tune him out. She was truly dumbfounded.

_After everything else he's done to me..._

The doctor smiled as he finished talking.

"Don't worry, we caught this in time. If you take your insulin shots and have your transfusions, you should be able to carry the fetus to term. I'll write some prescriptions that you can pick up in the pharmacy as soon as your IV is done."

The doctor walked out.

Cassie's Mom came over to give her a hug.

"Cassie, sugar...I'm so sorry,"

"There's nothing I can do about it now...I have to be strong, for my daughter."

"You also have to tell his parents. I've been watching you these past few months. You haven't called them or anyone on his side of the family. Not even Jordan and Sara.They deserve to know." Alisha gave Cassie a major guilt trip.

Cassie nodded her head. She was right, she couldn't hide the truth anymore

* * *

She took her father's hand and he helped escort her to their door. Jake's door. 

_This all used to be so familiar... _she thought to herself as she knocked.

After a minute, the door opened.

Jean came to the threshold.

"Cassie? Wow! This is a surprise! We haven't seen you in a while! How are you? Please, come in!"

Cassie gave a timid smile and followed Jean into her living room. It was bizarre. There were pictures of Tom all around. Like a shrine. But almost none of Jake. Cassie wasn't going to push it. Lord knows they had enough to deal with.

The Armed Forces had recently deemed him as missing in action. But Cassie knew in her heart of hearts he was gone forever.

Jake's father came from the kitchen with a tray of iced tea.

"Would you like something to drink? We were just about to eat lunch before I start my shift,"

He placed the tray on the coffee table and sat next to his wife. In him, Cassie could see all of Jake's strong features, but older and sadder with time.

He was also wearing a yarmukle, something that Cassie had rarely seen him do.

"No, no thanks. I...um...probably shouldn't have any..."

"So how have you been? Are you expecting?"

"I...you two might want to take a deep breath." she paused, and continued, "Five months ago, right before Jake went on his...mission, I saw him. We...ended up spending the night together, And...the next thing I knew...I was pregnant."

Their eyes widened.

Jean's breath got short.

"You can't be serious!" she gasped. "I thought you-Jake-you're PREGNANT?"

She fainted.

"I didn't expect that," Alisha muttered.

Steve helped his wife wake up and sit back down on the couch. He was in as much shock as she was.

"How did this happen? I can't believe-" Jean was rambling in disbelief. Steve couldn't say anything. He just got up and walked to the window. In the distance Cassie could see a rusted basketball hoop.

"It's been five months since I've heard anything from Jake. No one has. We were hoping you knew, but Jean and I, we didn't want to bother you. Every day, we just couldn't believe, that we lost another son. We worked hard all our lives to raise our boys, and they're gone,"

He turned to face me. I could see his eyes were wet with tears.

"...But now...you've come, with, with this gift."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Jean finally exclaimed.

Cassie put a hand over her stomach.

"I..I couldn't, I was too embarrassed...Jake and I-" she started to explain.

"Yeah, Your boy walked out on her. Didn't even have the decency to say goodbye. That's a lot to be embarrassed about." John grunted.

"Wait, so you're blaming our son's actions on US?" Jean held a hand up to her chest.

"Yes. He hurt Cassie. More than you think." John stroked his daughter's hair.

"Excuse me, but it takes two to make a baby-" Jean retorted.

"And Cassie's going to be raising it." John snapped back.

"STOP. PLEASE!" Cassie finally screamed.

She clutched her stomach. All the stress from the argument was making her sick.

"Oh, Cassie, is it the baby again?" Her mom's face was filled with worry.

"Wait, what's wrong with it?" Steve rushed over to her.

"I..I have Rh sensitization. That's what we were coming over here to tell you. I'm going to lose the child unless I have a transfusion of blood from a close relative of Jake."

Jean looked worried.

"Well, Jake and I have the same blood type. A positive." she said.

"Honey, you'll have to give blood to Cassie until she's ready to deliver." Steve said. "Her condition is serious."

Jean wiped her eyes. She had been crying silently.

"Cassie, if you will let me, I'd be more than willing to do this. I've already lost my sons." She reached over and touched Cassie's stomach, "Please don't let me lose my grandchild too."

She touched Jean's hand.

And I don't want to lose her either,"

Jake's mom smiled. A slow smile. A very familiar one, that almost didn't belong on her face.

"A little girl. Jean, they gave us a little grandgirl." Jake's dad was wistful as he started to hug his wife," Thank you for letting us have a

second chance."

* * *

Cassie was sitting on her back porch, reflecting. It was chillier, because of the winter, but still in the mid-sixties. But she wanted to be out here anyway. Looking at her land, it gave her a sense of peace. She knew the fields, the woods, like the back of her hand. 

_And she'll know them too_, she thought while patting her VERY round mid-section.

For the last four months, Cassie underwent routine blood transfusions with Jean so that the baby could stay healthy. Jean sat right beside her, getting her blood taken and then put into Cassie's womb.

On every single one of those days, Jean held her hand, and helped her through it. The transfusions were painful and made her nauseous.

But not as painful as thinking about Jake.

And the rest of Jake's crew.

Pissed off didn't even begin to describe how mad the Pentagon was. All they knew was that Jake stole a bug fighter and took Tobias, Marco, and two of his students with him. They called Cassie almost every week, hoping to find out about his whereabouts. Apparently, he was in big trouble.

_But not the type of trouble he'll be in if I find him first._

Most of her family was going to be in town for her baby shower in a few days. Other than Jake's parents, only Jordan and Sara were going to come. Jake's family was still very much split over the war.

_Maybe some wounds are impossible to heal._

She decided to get her dad from the clinic. Since she was pregnant, he wouldn't allow her to help out on surgeries or with general help, since she was so far along. And going out to the Valley was not an option. She felt so lazy with nothing to do but eat for two. Hopefully he could help with picking out the right wallpaper for the nursery.

As she walked across the field, she could feel her pelvic area start to spasm. She gasped and fell down. She was wet!

Oh god, she was going into labor!

"DAD! DAD!" Cassie crawled to her feet. This pain was intense. It was like...she couldn't even describe it.

John came running out of the clinic.

"What is it, Cassie?"

"Dad...I think..."

He looked at her,

"Cassie, oh God, what's wrong?"

"I think, I think the baby's coming!"

He picked up his daughter's little body.

"We're going to the hospital. I'll call your mom, she's lecturing at the University. She, your Nana, and your Grammy can meet us at the hospital."

* * *

Cassie was set up in her own birthing suite. This was the worst pain she ever experienced in her life. All of the Lamaze classes her Dad arranged for her weren't helping. 

"Breathe, Cassie, BREATHE!" Her mom said. She was standing next to the obstetrician.

"The baby''s not coming, Dr. Branch," the obstetrician said.

"DADDY!" Cassie screamed. ""I''m here, sweetheart, I''m here."" He came over to hold Cassie''s hand. Since she was near her due date, her parents, grandmother, and great grandmother were all in the delivery room trying to aid in the birth.

But something was going wrong.

"Push baby push," Cassie''s grandmother put a wet cloth on her forehead to take away the perspiration.

They had been at this for a couple hours, and no progress had seemed to be made.

''Uh……how long……" Cassie panted.

"Sometimes babies come in 30 minutes, I''ve been in situations where it takes 30 hours-"

"AAAHHH!" Cassie screamed.

"That's not a labor scream," Cassie's mom said. "I''m going to take a look,"

"Dr. Branch-" the obstetrician started to say.

"I'll have you know that my wife has helped to give birth to a giraffe, an elephant, and a gorilla, all in the past year." John was getting frustrated.

"Sweetheart, I''m going to take a look, I promise that we''ll figure out the problem."

"JAKE IS WHAT''S WRONG! HE DID THIS TO ME! I SWEAR……AAHHHHH!" Cassie moaned in pain again. It felt like she was losing her grip on consciousness.

"Oh God, Dr. Walters, the baby hasn't turned all the way. The umbilical cord, and the Rh, I''m going to take her up to surgery, we need to do a C-section immediately." He turned to one of the nurses.

"Call Dr. Palmer, stat! He's on duty. And Dr. Berenson."

"Berenson? He's this baby's grandfather! Where is he?" John growled.

The doctor blinked.

"What?"

"It''s complicated. Just get him in here."

"His shift starts in a few minutes, he should be here, and his wife volunteers here with the newborns……."

"His son knocked my baby girl up, and then left her! Get them in HERE!" John screamed.

"I''ll get him now sir," an orderly ran to the Nurses' station

"Mom……" Cassie's voice got weaker.

"Baby, it''s going to be ok, just stay with us,"

"The baby didn't turn? Is that what he said?" Cassie's Grammy said, hobbling over on her cane.

"Yes Grandma." Alisha was holding Cassie's other hand.

"Oh, I know how to fix that."

"Excuse me ma'am, this is a medical emergency."

"Look here sonny, I done been there and helped birth hundreds of babies, including two in this room. I think I can figure this out. Cassie, baby, I want you to take a deep breath. You got good genes. I know my baby can do this."

She nodded her head and drew a breath in

The doctor just stood back,

"I could lose my license-"

Alisha shot him a glare.

He shut up.

"Now this is what you do,"

Cassie's Grammy reached in,

"I feel a shoulder! Cassie, I''m going to turn the baby,"

Whatever her Grammy did, it worked, Cassie felt a LITTLE better, despite having the feeling that her insides were getting torn out.

"Now the head is there. Cassie, you need to push that baby like there is no tomorrow. It will all be over if you can do that for your Grammy. Can you do that?"

Cassie nodded her head, half conscious.

Just then, Jake's parents came in.

"Cassie, I had no idea you were going into labor!" he ran over to her bedside.

"Steve, that doesn''t matter now!" Jean held onto him, "Let the poor girl have some space,"

"It''s ok, its ok, It''s good that you both are here," Alisha said,

John just coughed.

"Hey, it''s not my fault that Jake-" Steve started to say.

"Please, both of you," Jean said. "Cassie, are you doing ok?"

"Hush,"

"PUSH CHILE PUSH! PUSH LIKE MOMMA SAID!" Cassie''s grandmother said.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Cassie pushed with all of the strength left in her body and slumped over.

A little cry pierced the air.

"Waaaahhhhh!"

"It''s here! It''s here! You''re baby is here!"

Cassie peered over at her grandmother. Her dad rushed over to cut the umbilical cord.

The doctor just blinked.

"It''s white, and there's skin on her face." He said, dumbfounded.

Cassie's grandmother gingerly took the caul off.

"Like I said. It''s complicated. Jeez, has anyone ever seen a mixed-race child before? This is the 21st century," John inquired.

"Your baby has a caul on its face, it''s a seer." Cassie''s Grammy said, absently. No one was paying attention in all the madness.

"My little one is here?" Cassie panted, breathlessly.

"Your girl, a gorgeous, healthy baby girl." John handed the child over to Cassie, and she held it in her arms.

The baby opened her eyes, and two familiar, strong brown eyes looked back at her.

_His eyes. Why?_

"Well, what are you going to call her?" Jean asked.

Cassie knew all along.

"I'm going to call her Rachel. Rachel Nicole Branch."

* * *

It was her first night back at the house. 

Her first night home with little Rachel. It was anything but peace and quiet. Rachel was driving her CRAZY with her crying! She wouldn't stop, and Cassie didn't know what was wrong.

Since the nursery wasn't done yet, the baby's crib was in her room. So bye-bye sleep.

To tell the truth, Cassie didn't know how to feel. Ever since they took Rachel away from her in the hospital, she felt...down all the time.

Coming home wasn't much better. She was going to have the baby shower, and she didn't even want it.

All she wanted was to curl up in a ball on her bed and pull the sheets over her head.

Like she was doing now.

"Cassie, Cassie, sweetie, what's going on?"

Alisha walked into the room.

"Cass, the baby is crying!"

Cassie didn't say anything. Heavier footsteps followed her mother's, but went over to her crib.

"Oh gosh Alisha, this baby's diaper is nasty! And Rachel is hungry. Cassie, why aren't you helping;"

"I can't,"

"What do you mean you can't? Cassie, you need to learn how to take care of your child!"

"I mean I CAN'T!" she started to cry. "I don't think I'm able to take care of her!"

"Cassie, that's nonsense-"

"You don't understand! Everytime I look in her eyes, I see HIM! It's not fair! Why did he leave me?!?!?"

"Alisha, go downstairs. Get Jean and Steve." John walked over to her.

Jean and Steve were sleeping over tonight with their new granddaughter.

"Baby, I can't imagine what you are going through." He held Rachel and tried to shush her.

Cassie wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"But you've been doing so well, especially since your pregnancy was so hard." her dad continued to say.

"I just feel so horrible. Maybe all the complications in the pregnancy, maybe it's a sign. We, Jake and I, had too much bad Karma to ride into the sunset peacefully," Cassie lamented.

"You can't think that way, Cassie. After all you've been through, this horrible war, hell, I never even thought that aliens existed, much less that they wanted to make us their slaves. You've done so much good, honey. You deserve her. I can't say the same thing about Jake. Now, change her diaper before I pass out from the fumes!" he half-joked.

Cassie unwrapped the diaper and started the arduous process of cleaning the baby and putting on a new one.

_Stinky!_

After she finished, her Dad beamed with pride. But the baby was still crying.

"See Dad, this is what I was talking about! I can't!"

Thankfully Jake's parents didn't hear her say that as they walked in.

"The baby woke us up. Your Mom said Rachel was crying."

"Yeah,"

"Cassie's having some trouble with the baby," Alisha said as she sat next to her daughter and granddaughter.

"What kind? Cassie, you know you always can come to us for help. All of us have been where you are before."

Cassie bit her lip.

"Oh, listen, she's hungry." Steve immediately picked up.

Everyone looked at her.

"Oh, no, that means,"-Cassie

"Well, you knew it was going to happen. You remember from your parenting classes. You have to feed her."

Cassie was a little embarrassed.

"Can't I just use formula?"

"NO!" all four parents yelled incredulously

_Well, here goes nothing._

She picked up the screaming child and sat down. Then she started to feed her. It was a bit embarrassing do it in front of her father and Dr. Berenson, but the breast-feeding started to work. Rachel got quiet.

"Well, that's our cue to head out. Cassie, your father and I have to work in the morning. Jean, Steve, do you mind...?"

"No, that's the reason we're here," Jean smiled.

Alisha kissed her daughter's head.

"We're down the hall if you need us."

Then they left the room, leaving Cassie alone with Jake's parents.

"Cassie, you're doing so well with her," Jean marveled after a few minutes of welcome silence.

"Thank you...Mom and Dad said it wouldn't be easy. Even the animals at the barn were easier. She's so tiny."

"Loud though. Just like Jake..." Jean started to say, "She looks like him too, especially the eyes."

"Cassie, I need to ask you something." Steve wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "One thing I truly regret is not teaching my boys everything I could about themselves, their heritage. Now, I know you aren't Jewish, and you probably want to baptize Rachel...but it would warm my heart if you would let her have a naming ceremony. Jake...he's gone, but it can still be done."

Cassie gulped. As long as she could remember, her family had been Catholic.

"This wouldn't mean-"

"No, no...I just want her to know her history, where she comes from."

"Steve, I would love to. Jake would want her to have one."

He smiled. Steve's happiness was radiant.

"Well, who would be there?"

"Besides the members of the congregation, my family. My wife's too. Everyone's so excited to see her. The phone has been ringing off the hook."

"Almost everyone. I still can't believe Naomi...trying to poison those girls."

"Jordan and Sara? I thought they were going to come to the baby shower on Saturday." Cassie was confused.

"Yes. Naomi and Dan...they don't want us to see them. They're still angry. About Jake. It's the one thing they can agree on." Jean frowned.

"It's torn my family apart. But Jordan said she'd find a way to get the both of them over here." Steve looked out the window.

"Well, maybe she can bring everyone back together." Cassie checked down on the

baby, "It looks like she's done feeding."

Cassie closed the front of her pajama top and started to burp Rachel. She gurgled and smiled.

_That smile_...like it almost didn't belong on her cute face.

It broke her heart.

Every day, this baby was looking more and more like him.

She walked her back over to her crib and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Rachel's thin curls of brown hair were starting to come in and shoot out of her head. Her skin was still pink, but she was developing the first traces of a honey brown color.

She was a beautiful baby. She even looked a bit like...the other Rachel.

"Steve, that's fine. She's not just my daughter, she's your granddaughter too, and I'm willing to do anything to help you..through this."

"Thank you," they both embraced her in a long hug.

* * *

(Rae)

I was shocked. I didn't know what to say.

The only thing I could do is inch closer to Mom and give her a hug.

"Mom, I had no idea,"

"Now you see why I didn't tell you when you were younger." She brushed some stray hair from my face. "It was painful...it still is painful to think about,"

Her eyes were tearing up.

"I lost your father, and I almost lost you. Everyone expects me to be this perfect person...but, no one can be perfect all the time, Rae. And when you ran out last night, I thought I lost you for good."

I knew this wasn't Mom's psychobabble. These were her real feelings.

"So does that mean-"

"No, you're still grounded Rachel. But I wanted to show you that I'm not the monster you must think I am."

"I don't think you're a monster Mom. Dad is. I can't belive he did that to you! He was horrible!"

She took my hand.

"Listen, Rachel, your father is not evil."

"But how can you forgive him after all of that?"

"I never said I forgave him. Completely anyway."

_REALLY?_

"But he's done so much good since he returned. For all of us. Especially for you. One day you will understand." Mom helped me stand up. "Now, it's time you see something else."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

This chapter is dedicated to Thisgirlsnotgrey, Myitt, and Sinister Shadow for their extensive help on things not familiar to me. On to it!

(Rae)

Mom got up from the bed and patted my knee. She made her way over to my bookcase, and pulled out an old photo album.

"Remember this?" she asked me.

It was my old baby photo album. I hadn't looked at that thing in years.

"Yeah, my album."

"When you were born, we took all these pictures and filled it with them," she said as she walked over to me.

Mom sat back down and opened it up. She pointed to one of me, pink and screaming in hospital carriage.

"See? This is you right after you were born. The doctor was trying to get your armband on. 'Trying' is the operative word," Mom chuckled to herself, "You' ve always been loud, I' ll give you that."

I smiled.

"Oh look, here's another one."

Mom pointed to the next picture down. A younger Grandpa was handing me over to a Rabbi?

Mom picked up on my confusion.

"That was your naming ceremony." Mom rubbed my back, "We decided to give you one, when we thought your father was..."

She steadied herself and continued.

"It was a wonderful day..."

* * *

"Come on Steve, we're going to be late!"

"I know Jean, I''m just trying to find a spot!"

Steve parked next to a handicapped space, nearly crashing into the small car that was there.

Jean gave him a disdainful look.

"What? Our granddaughter 's naming ceremony is in 10 minutes! I'll pay the collision insurance! " He hopped out of the car.

"Sweetheart, grab the wine and the fish platters out of the back. Take it downstairs, they 'll set up for the Kiddush. I see George is parked over there. Forrest and Justin will help you. I''ll take Cassie and her family into the synagogue. "

Steve looked towards the door. Cassie, her family, and what looked like her extended family were standing in the entranceway. Cassie was holding a baby carrier with little Rachel inside.

Jean and Steve walked over and embraced Cassie in a hug before Jean left with the food.

"Cassie, it''s good to see that you made it here. Were the directions good? " Steve inquired.

"Yeah, they were fine. We got here without a problem. Right Rachel?" She smiled down at Rachel.

The baby gurgled.

"Oh, someone is happy to see their grandparents. " Steve smiled.

"Hi, Steve. This is My sister Patricia and her husband Theodore. And their kids, Donald, Curtis, Craig, Lauren, and Lynette, Craig''s fiancee." Alisha introduced her sister's family.

Everyone shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

"When does the service start, Steve?"

"In a few minutes. We should go inside. We have seats reserved in the front for everyone. I think my parents are already in there, and I see George's SUV."

_But not Dan's_, Cassie thought.

_Maybe Dan told Jordan and Sara not to come. That would be awful. Trying to tear this family apart._

As she walked into the main hallway, she was pleasantly shocked. Jordan and Sara were nearly running up the aisle.

"Cassie! Cassie!"

"Jordan?!?!? Sara!?!?!?! Oh wow! You guys came!"

They gave her the biggest group hug they could muster.

"And is this Rae? Cassie she is sooo cute!"

"Yes, she is, a little angel." Cassie was so proud of her little baby.

"Guys, we should get going. The service is about to start. All the men, there are kippahs in the bin. In our tradition, we cover our heads as a sign of respect. Like I'm doing." He pointed to his own head "Also, all married women are expected to cover their heads. There are veils on the other side."

The men and the women all followed Steve's example and then they walked up to the front of synagogue. Some people were sitting at the front, an old man and woman wearing black and white.

Cassie figured them were Jake's grandparents. Next to them was a younger man, with his wife and three kids...

Justin, Brooke, and Forrest.

Cassie realized how special this was for Steve. Every one of his brothers, including him, had lost a child.

Two in their case.

Cassie smiled at his family and everyone took their seats. Her parents sat on one side, Jordan and Sara on the other.

The Rabbi walked down the aisle and took his place at the podium.

"That's Rabbi Kravitz." (A/N, Yes, I did name him after Lenny Kravitz:)

He instructed everyone to take out their prayer books, and all Cassie could recognize was a lot of praying in Hebrew, and a lot of sitting and standing. Steve helped her keep up with the everything.

Finally, they got to the Torah reading. The rabbi took the Torah scroll out of the case and brought it down on the podium. The whole congregation got up and started clapping. The cantor started singing the cantellation.

It was all very beautiful to her.

Rabbi Kravitz started on the sermon.

"Now I would like to share a story with everyone. One of my favorite stories from the Tanach, Kings 10:1-13. It is about two people. They came from very different places, but couldn't be more similar in mind and spirit. With this story, I want to transport you back in time. To the green mountains of Ethiopia and to a young Queen of Sheba. She was very wealthy and learned in her own right, but royal travelers to the Kingdom of Israel told her about a very wise king whose wisdom was unmatched throughout the world. At the same time, this king, King Solomon, had also heard of the Queen, and was intrigued by her.

She decided to visit Israel to test his knowledge. When they met, King Solomon was smitten by her. He provided to her every want and need during her stay. And the Queen was taken by his wisdom. Every question she asked of him, he had an answer. Realizing that they were kindred spirits, The Queen also blessed HaShem as the one true God. As it says in the text, Solomon gave the Queen "all she desired" and took her hand in Marriage. From their union, they had a child, Menelik I. From him, we have our cousins, the Ethiopian Jews. Solomon was very sad when they had to leave his kingdom, though he knew that the Queen could not stay away from her land forever. But they knew they would always be kindred spirits, and his son's people would one day return to him. The King's wisdom proved true, in many ways. Even though Solomon and the Queen were from different continents and different peoples, they were able to look beyond the superficial and unite two kingdoms with the greatest force of all: love."

Cassie felt a chill go up her spine. Maybe the Rabbi didn't know it, but the story reminded her of Jake, and their relationship...

_He could be talking about us...Or what we used to be._

After the Rabbi finished his sermon, he started to say special prayers for people in the congregation. Then he stopped and looked at Steve.

"It's time," Steve whispered.

Steve, Cassie, and John all walked to the stage with Rachel in tow.

"Now let us say a special prayer for the new mother and baby with us today. He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- may He bless the woman who has given birth, Cassandra, daughter of Jonathan, with her daughter who has been born at an auspicious time, and may her name be called in Israel Rachelle Naomi bas Yaakov for her father-in-law, the infant's grandfather, will contribute to charity on their behalf. In return for this, may they raise her to Torah, marriage, and good deeds. Now let us respond, Amen."

"Amen," the congregation responded.

Cassie looked out to the congregation. Jake's family was beaming with pride. She swore she could have seen a glimpse of a beautiful young woman with ice blue eyes and golden blond hair standing at the back, near the door.

But then she was gone.

Somehow, she knew that Jake was looking down on her too.

* * *

Downstairs, after the service. Steve and Jean held a kiddush for baby Rachel. Every member of the congregation came over to congratulate Cassie and her extended family. Sara was doting over Rachel while the adults were about to start drinking wine.

Steve stood up.

"Cassie, A toast, to my granddaughter Rachel. May she live a long and healthy life!"

A tear fell from his eye.

"I never thought I would have a grandchild, especially not after what happened to our boys, Cassie. But when one door closes, another one opens. May Rachel''s sunlight brighten our whole lives!"

Everyone raised their glasses in celebration. Well, everyone except Cassie and the kids. They were still underage.

As they dined on wine and picked herring, Jordan came and sat down next to Cassie.

"So, how has everything been?"

"Not easy Jordan. I have to admit."

Jordan took Rae out of Sara's grasp and started to cuddle they baby, who fell asleep in all of the excitement.

"Jake?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah," Cassie said quietly. "I don't think I'll ever get over losing him...again"

Jordan put baby Rae back in the carrier and hugged Cassie.

"I don't think you can just 'get over' what happened to you. But we're all here. We all want to be a part of little Rachel's life. Except Mom and Dad." Jordan looked down."Uncle Steve e-mailed Sara and me to come. They don't know we're here."

Jordan frowned.

"It's pretty bad. Neither of them will talk about Our Rachel. And Jake...you can't even say his name without either of them flipping out. When we found out you had Cousin Jake's baby, Mom, she wasn't even happy. And you were like a sister to Rach. And Dad...he said Jake deserved whatever he got, that he was not worthy enough to know his own child."

Cassie's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Jordan, that''s horrible. Jake's his blood."

Jordan slumped down in the chair.

"Don't say that to him. Mom and Dad can only agree on one thing, and that's hating him."

"Well, you can drop by and spend as much time as you want with Rachel. Anytime."

"Thanks Cassie."

An old lady stopped by the table where the three of them were sitting.

"Would either of you like some herring or lox?"

Cassie looked at Jordan, a smile in her eye.

_Thank goodness I''m a vegetarian,_ she thought.

"Uh, maybe in a little bit."

"I'll just leave the plate over here. Take whatever you want. A baby being born! What a mitzvot!"

She clapped her hands and walked away.

"Don't mind her. A baby tends to bring out the excitement in everyone, even people you don't know."

"Tell me about it. When I was pregnant, everyone thought they had a license to touch my belly-"

Sara's eyes widened and she looked over to Jordan.

"Jordan. We have to leave, now. "

"Why? Cassie and I-"

"Dad."

All three of them looked over to see Dan walking through the double doors to the recreation hall.

He did not look happy.

"Crap," was all Jordan could say.

Steve and George noticed too.

They quickly stood up from the conversation they were having with Cassie's parents and walked over to him.

"Jordan, Sara. Let's go. NOW." Dan nearly barked.

Sara started to jump up, but Jordan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Dan. Please. This is not the time-" Steve tried to grab at him.

Dan pushed past Steve.

"Girls, let's go. Get in the car."

"Dan. Leave them be. This is a holy place. Try to act respectful." George tried to mediate between his two brothers.

"Get your hands off of me Steve. How dare you tell them to come here without my permission?"

"Because they are my nieces, and this is my Granddaughter's naming ceremony. We're a family. Or maybe you've forgotten." Steve almost raised his voice, but stopped himself. Already, they were causing a scene.

"No, I haven't. I've never forgotten what your son did to my daughter," Dan spat.

Steve's faced filled with anger.

"You don't think I know how it feels to lose a child? You don't think George knows? For one day can you drop the vigilante act against my boy?"

Dan opened his mouth in protest, but Steve continued on.

"Of all people, I can't believe you. Cassie...she's given Jean and me new hope. But if you can't understand all the good she's done for this family, maybe you should leave. And don't think about coming back. We'll be better off with out you"

Cassie came up with the baby. This situation needed to be defused.

Dan almost immediately felt embarrassed, acting out in front of everyone.

"Cassie..." he breathed.

"I'm really sorry about all of this. I didn't expect this to happen."

"It's okay Steve."

She turned to face Dan.

"Rachel meant as much to me as she did to you. She was much more than my friend, Dan. Jordan even said it. We were like sisters. Family. One thing I've learned from this entire...pregnancy, is that you never give up on family. No matter how much they hurt you."

The baby started to stir.

Dan looked unsure of what to do. He was so angry at Jake, but at the same time, he saw the pain in everyone's eyes, especially Cassie's.

"Look, she's waking up." Cassie told them. She looked at Steve, and he nodded. She handed the baby over to Dan.

The beginnings of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He started to bounce her in his arms.

"What's her name?"

"Rachel."

Dan couldn't take it anymore. He broke down in tears.

* * *

(Present Day Rae)

"But I thought I got baptized... I even remember my first communion back in Berkeley, just before Tommy was born."

"You did get baptized. Here's your certificate. And your Saint Name. Teresa. I named you after Mother Teresa, the saint that did all the good work in India," she pointed to the next page.

Mom touched my hand. She had bags under her eyes, making her face look weary.

"I did all of those things for you because I knew you would grow up to be a strong, amazing lady. But you're lost right now, and that scares me. It scares your father too, although he'd never admit it."

I leaned into her.

"I just don't know who I am. I'm too many things. Black, White, Jewish, Catholic. It's like I don't fit in anywhere."

"No one said life was easy, Rachel. There are no simple categories that you can place yourself in. The world is too large and complex for that. Just remember one thing, you brought your family back together. In many ways."

Then, we both heard crashing outside and children laughing.

"That must be Tommy and Lissa. I wonder what they got into NOW. Your father was supposed to be watching them."

Mom stood up.

"But keep looking at your album Rae. I just want you to relax and take it easy for right now. I'll be back after I figure out what they're up to."

She squeezed my knee again and left the room.

I flipped through the book, checking out pictures of my first bath, me crawling, me walking, and my first birthday party.

Then I saw another picture. It was me of course, I looked to be, maybe two years old. I was sitting next to a man, barely out of his teens, in a hospital bed. He was bandaged with tubes sticking out of him.

_Dad? I don't remember this..._

CRASH!

Wow, the kids must be breaking everything in the house! I limped out of bed and over to the other side of the room, where I could hear everything through the floorboard...

"...Thomas, Melissa, you CANNOT play Peter Pan on the swinging couch outside! Look at it! It's broken! We've had that thing forever!"

I smiled a little. At least Mom wasn't mad at ME anymore...

"But Rae an her friends play in the barn-" Melissa started to say.

"And Rae is hurt very badly now. See what misbehaving will do to you?"

_Mom! I thought you were on MY side!_

I heard Dad's wheelchair move across the room.

"Both of you. Up to your rooms. Now. No more Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, or Lost Boys today."

I heard the two of them shuffle past them and up the stairs.

_Heh. Dad pulled a power move._

"Rae-Rae!"

Melissa pulled me out of my head with her pet name for me. She and Tommy were standing in my doorway.

She was dressed as Tinkerbell, frilly pink ballerina costume and all. Tommy was wearing a Peter Pan costume, with an eyepatch that was WAY to big for his face. He must have taken Dad's.

"Hey guys. What's going on?"

"Mommy an Daddy are mean!" Melissa pouted.

"Well, what did you do?"

"We wanted to fly!" Tommy screamed.

"Shh, Tommy, not so loud. They're going to hear you. Guys, sit on my bed. I'm going to listen in. Maybe I can see why Mom and Dad are being such party poopers."

I put my ear to the floor again.

"...I see she's passed her misbehaving on to the little ones. They're just like Rae was at that age. Cassie, she's out of control." Dad started to vent. Again. Jeez, would he blame the world ending on me? Probably.

"You're forgetting that she was in the hospital last night. How could she have told Tommy or Liss anything? Jake, you need to calm down." Mom started defending me again.

"So you say. It's bad enough that she pulled that stunt on us. Even worse when she told the doctor at the hospital to call Child Services! Cassie, you seriously need to think about that Military School I was talking about. I can't handle this anymore." Dad retorted.

"Jake, I've been saying this for weeks. You HAVE to stop yelling and actually sit down and talk to her. She's not a soldier or an Animorph, she's your DAUGHTER for heavens sake."

Silence.

_GO MOM!_

"Cassie, I don't have time for the therapy crap. When you want to parent like a mother, instead of a shrink, you let me know."

"JAKE!"

"I'm serious! I'm sick of doctors trying to tell me how to raise my own child! First your parents, then my Dad, and now you! Just because I don't have a degree, it doesn't make me incompetent!"

"How dare you Jake! My parents have shown you NOTHING but kindness. From the day you came back to building a whole new wing for the house. Or did you forget about that?"

I could hear Dad grunt.

"Please Jake. They're not the enemy."

"I hope you were upstairs giving Rachel the same advice. "

"No Jake. Actually, I told her about what happened between us. If you actually had listened to me and talked to her, you would have known that' s why she' s been lashing out."

Silence again. Then I could hear Dad's wheelchair moving down the hall.

Dumbfounded, I looked at Tommy and Melissa.

"Guys, stay here. I''ll be right back."

They both nodded their heads and gave me these blank stares, like they didn't know what was going on.

I pulled myself up. It was hard to stand up straight on my bad leg. My arm was throbbing too.

Last night was really starting to catch up with me.

_Maybe I should go back to bed...nah...this is too juicy._

I limped down the hallway to the staircase. Good. They weren't in the living room. But I could see Mom's small shadow from the staircase. They must be in the wing leading to their bedroom.

Peering over, I could see them glaring at each other.

I'd never seen them this upset at each other. At least, other than that vision I saw...

"Jake, what the hell is with the silent treatment? Rae is old enough to know what happened."

"She didn't need to find out. Not like this."

"Why? Because it's embarrassing? Jake, don't EVEN go there-"

"No, because she's going to hate me forever now. She'll see me as some deadbeat who put the world over her. And that''s not the case. I gave up so much for everyone."

Mom sighed.

"I know that honey. I really do."

"Do you?"

"You seem to forget that I went in your head and saw your pain. Literally-"

"Cassie! Just stop! Maybe everyone is right. Maybe it would have been better if I HAD died on that ship. Then you would have had a better father for her, instead of an insane crippled drunk. Maybe it would have been perfect if we'd never gotten together that night."

He wheeled past her and out to the living room. Mom ran after him.

"Jake, please. Calm down. Let' s just talk."

He shook his head.

"I don't want to talk-Rae?"

He turned and looked at me. He finally realized I was sitting on the stairs.

We stared at each other for a minute.

_He really never cared about me._

Mom followed him in.

"Rachel..."Mom gave me a morose stare

I didn't stick around.

Dad showed me how he really felt.

He rather be dead than be around me.

I limped upstairs as fast as I could.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(Rae)

As I ran (or tried to run) up the stairs, my bad foot slipped into a crack. The floorboard on the top stair was messed up..

_Ouch!_ I thought, trying not to scream. My foot turned a rustic purplish color.

_No more pain. Please. Not after everything else I've been through today._

During the fight, I could see the hurt in Mom's face. Her warm brown eyes were so glum. And her skin, which had this radiant glow this morning, was pretty haggard. Everything was taking a toll on her.

I wished that I hadn't had the TALK with her...I wish, I wish that I just could have taken back everything I did and said in the last twenty-four hours. Now that I really thought about it, Mom did most of the work around here. She worked almost every day, wrote books, raised money for environmental causes, and still found time for me, Tommy, and Liss.

She did college as a single mom and med school taking care of us.

Mom was such a strong and amazing person. I..I..didn't mean to hurt her... I knew now that she almost gave her life for me.

But Dad...

What was wrong with him?

How could he say that to Mom? She went through all of the misery being by herself raising me, and he couldn't care less. About her or me. Or Tommy and Melissa. Just because he was in a wheelchair, it didn't mean he was the only one in pain.

On top of that, he just laid around the house all day. Sometimes he would write, and everyday he was in Physical Therapy, or playing wheelchair basketball with his team. Other days, he just stayed in the house, watching TV, or sitting by the window. He wouldn't even play with my little brother and sister, let alone talk to me. Sometimes Mom couldn't even get close to him.

It was better than yelling at me constantly. Still, I just wished I could a normal father like everyone else. Even like Grandpa Steve or Pop-Pop John.

I got the paralyzed thing. I really did. For as long as I could remember, Dad had been in the wheelchair. Sometimes it was annoying, I guess. We couldn't go hiking or on skiing like other families. And most places, we got special treatment. Having to use the handicapped entrance. On vacations, he had this rover that looked like it was on the moon. It was so embarrassing to Dad, he usually stayed inside.

I knew it pissed him off. But there were so many paralyzed people who did well with their lives before they died. Roy Campanella, Christopher Reeve.

Even the Auxiliaries! Once they could morph, Mom told me that they were so happy. They became whole again, they could walk..

That was weird. If they could walk, why couldn't Dad?.

I could still see his face as I stormed towards my room.

He looked tired of it all. Of us. Even though he was furious, he just looked broken.

_He's going crazy..._

"Rae, what are you doing out of bed?" Mom-Mom stopped me in the middle of the hallway.

The tears started to well up in my eyes, burning as they fell from my cheeks.

"Come here, baby, come here. Everything is going to be alright."

She took me into her arms.

* * *

(Crayak)

The two of them were summoned to me. Edriss and Esplin the Prime. With their human controllers, of course.

My best warriors. In any game.

After the breakout, I transported them to the void, to avoid suspicion.

It was too early for the new invasion to start, yet.

Esplin the Prime's host appeared shocked.

(Master, how was I broken out of my prison? Why is Edriss next to me? I was present at her execution!) Esplin was hyperventilating.

That Esplin. Always asking questions.

(Esplin. Shut up. Did anyone ever tell you how annoying you are?) Edriss's human form shook its head.

**THANK YOU EDRISS.**

(No Problem, Master.) It smiled.

**NO ONE SAID YOU COULD BE A SUCK-UP-HOWEVER.**

Esplin's host gave Edriss a condescending look.

**ANYWAY, IF YOU TWO COULD STOP ARGUING FOR A NANOSECOND AND LISTEN, WE HAVE VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO. I HAVE SACRIFICED MUCH TIME AND ENERGY SETTING UP THIS PLAN TO WORK. **

I brought Edriss closer to my vision.

**AFTER YOU WERE EXECUTED, EDRISS, I UNLEASHED 'PLAN B'. OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 'THE ONE'. TO TRY AND LURE THE REMAINDER OF THE ANIMORPHS INTO DEFEAT. I WAS ALMOST SUCCESSFUL, CAPTURING AXIMILI AND LURING THE MALE HUMAN REMANTS OF THE ANIMORPHS OUT INTO OUTER SPACE. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WERE SUCCESFUL. ALL BUT THE ONE THEY CALL JACOB. HE WAS GRIVEOUSLY INJURED.**

I saw both of their controllers smile.

"Did he die?" Edriss asked.

"No Edriss, even I get the news in prison. He was denied the use of his two legs. Paralyzed, as the humans would say. Along with some other injuries. His eyesight is bad, and he has breathing problems occasionally." Esplin pointed out merrily.

"But he's a morpher. Those injuries would be nothing-"Edriss stopped. She saw a twinke in the eyes of the Esplin's host.

She figured it out.

I suppose I had been giving off some despicable emotion as well.

"You DIDN'T! She squealed with joy. "How did you override that disgusting morphing technology?"

**IT TURNS OUT THAT THAT HORRID KETRAN, TOOMIN, INTERFERED SO THAT THE ANOMALY, CASSIE, WOULD PROCREATE AND BEAR WHAT WE CALL A 'WILD CARD' WITH JACOB. A RARE OCCURRENCE THAT CAN MANIPULATE SPACE-TIME TO ITS DESIRES.**

Edriss gaped.

"How, how can that be POSSIBLE?!? Why does 'good' have all of the luck?"

**QUIET EDRISS. EVEN DEATH COULD NOT BRING YOU PATIENCE. LIKE I WAS SAYING, THIS MESSED UP THE KETRAN'S PLANS. HE HAD TOO MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE, WITH BOTH JACOB AND THE WILDCARD. SO WE AGREED NEVER TO LET JACOB HEAL FROM HIS INJURIES, EVEN WITH MORPHING. HE WOULD BE TOO MUCH OF A LIABILITY IN A BATTLE, HAVING THOSE HANDICAPS. I ALMOST SUCCEEDED TOO. THE INJURIES HE SUFFERED DROVE HIM INSANE, AND NEARLY TO OUR SIDE. BUT THAT VILE HUMAN EMOTION CALLED 'LOVE' SAVED HIM.**

"Love for his offspring-the wildcard?" Edriss

**YES.**

"Master, what is your plan? How can we defeat them this time? With the Animorphs and this Wildcard's power, they'll be nearly unstoppable."

**AH, THAT IS NOW. WE MUST GO BACK TO THEN.**

I stared directly at their confused faces.

* * *

2 days later.

(Rae)

It was a Tuesday. My first day back in school since, the "party". And it totally sucked. When I walked down the hall, all these kids started backing away from me slowly. Others pointed and whispered among themselves next to the lockers.

I knew they were talking about me and what Dad did at the barn. Man, I felt like such a loser! I was so embarrassed that Dad DID that to me! Plus everything he said afterwards...

Mom-Mom caught me on the stairs after Mom and Dad's argument. I couldn't do anything but cry in her arms. She told me she would talk to them, but it didn't matter.

Some of the kids told the cops what Dad did. Grandpa Steve must've told the ER doctor to call Child Services too, because we were meeting with them today after school, downtown.

My leg was still sore, so I walked gingerly down the cream-colored hall to my blue locker. Good thing I had jeans on to cover up my ugly stitches.

At least one person was happy to see me. I heard her before I saw her.

"Hey girl, I thought you disappeared on us."

Tanya.

"Nah." I replied.

She pointed to my arm, where my baby blue American Apparel Sweatshirt was covering my cast up.

"What happened there?"

"Yeah...You know that truck accident up near the mall? I was on my way to my Grandma and Grandpa's house and I nearly got hit."

"Oh gosh, Rachel." I had no idea. I tried to call your house, but your Dad said-"

"I couldn't have any phone calls. They grounded me for life, just about." I frowned as I got my health book out of the locker. I had it next. Blech.

Health class would be a re-run of last night, where Mom explained everything about the human reproductive system.

She even had posters and plastic 'figures' she got from work.

Sex education SUCKS when your Mom is a doctor.

"Ouch." Tanya said for emphasis, bringing me back to the present. "That really blows"

I slammed the locker door shut.

"If it makes you feel any better, I got hit for two weeks. And Jamal got the car and turntables taken away from him. He's pretty bummed out."

I smiled. Tanya was so nice, but there was no way she could possibly understand how I feel.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for health class." she tugged me along.

* * *

After school, Dad picked me up to take me out to the Child Services office, where we would meet Mom. Since I couldn't even dream of basketball practice with my injuries, I was excused. He didn't say anything to me when I got into his truck.

Derrick wasn't around either. I tried to look at him in health, but he kept on glancing away from me.

_Great, I lose another friend...and I LIKED him._

The ride downtown was traffic-filled, but I tried my best to ignore Dad. I put my headphones on and I stared at the city-scape we passed by. It had been a while since I'd been downtown here, probably last summer. The sky was electric blue, and on the horizon were the tall skyscrapers of the financial district. Except the TransAmerica Pyramid. This wasn't San Fran.

Instead, we went past a tall, imposing statue of someone very familiar.

Cousin Rachel.

Dad gulped and adjusted his tie. He probably didn't like driving past it either.

I guess he put on a business suit to show the Child Services people he wasn't a lazy bum.

Good luck.

I was going to come just as I was, blue jeans, sweatshirt and all. Even the pink vans that clashed with my outfit. I wasn't going to dress over my problems. Dad navigated through the streets until we met Mom's car outside a short grayish office building with black windows. We parked and Dad popped my door open.

"Go on Rachel. I'll meet your Mom and you inside."

I left my backpack inside his truck and made my way over to the building. Inside the double doors, it said 'Child Services'. Right. Like I was expecting the Ice Cream Factory.

Mom was inside the hallway, sitting on some overstuffed green vinyl couches. She was reading a magazine. Wearing her lab coat. Good grief, they were just showing off now! When she saw me enter the waiting area, she looked up.

"Oh, Rae. You're here. Good. Is your father parking?"

"Yeah." I scratched at my cast. It itched SO MUCH! But there was nothing I could do.

"That's just as well. The doctor wants to see you first."

Mom pointed to a hallway."Second door on the left. Room twenty."

I nodded and made my way over to the hallway. I passed a bunch of gray cubicles on the way. That must be where all the social workers handled things. Even so, everyone was staring at me, not doing their jobs.

_Man, it probably isn't everyday that they get to work with celebrities._

I walked room twenty and opened the door. A white woman, maybe in her forties, was waiting in a burgundy armchair, drinking a cup of coffee and wearing a business suit herself.

"Come in, Rachel. I've been expecting you."

She put the coffee cup down and walked over to shake my hand.

Her long brown hair was straight behind her back, and she had a nose as thin as a pen. I focused on her name tag. Taylor.

"Sit down, sit down."

I took a seat across from her in this huge burgundy couch, like the armchair. It was big and comfy. Nothing like the one Mom was sitting on outside.

"My name is Dr. Taylor, Rachel. I understand that this is a court-ordered visit, so I won't waste time on the introductions. Tell me more about yourself. There's nothing to be scared of. Everything we say is confidential, unless you tell me you want to hurt someone, someone wants to hurt you, or you want to hurt yourself."

She got back into the seat and picked up one of those clipboards with a pen on top.

_Huh? _

"Wait, what do you mean?" I was confused.

"I can't tell anyone anything what we talk about. It's against the rules of my profession."

"Oh," I started futzing with a doll on the coffee table in front of me. It was a Cabbage Patch kid. Like one I used to have when I was little.

"Well, there's not much to say about me. You probably know of my parents. I'm just your typical mixed kid."

"Tell me more about that."

I put the doll back.

"Well, y'know, my Dad is half-Russian and Half-Irish,(A/N: Wasn't Jake a descendant of a dude named Isaiah Fitzhenry? And Berenson is Eastern European/Russian Yiddish for 'son of bear' There's your random fact for the day, kids.) and my Mom is Black. Oh, and he's Jewish and she's Catholic."

"Well, that's pretty interesting. Quite a lot going on there with you," Dr Taylor started writing.

"I guess. But-" I stopped.

Dr. Taylor picked up her pen

"But what-?"

I hesitated.

"Go on. There are no boundaries here."

"I just feel, like an outsider sometimes. Like I don't fit in anywhere. I have a friend, I guess, at school. Tanya. She's really great. Though sometimes...it's like I'm not Black enough. Or White enough. Just because my parents are the way they are."

I picked up the doll again.

"Why is that?" Dr. Taylor inquired.

"Well, they keep on saying things about my hair," I pointed to it, it was in a French Braid, the only thing Mom-Mom could do to keep it tamed. "Like because I can't rock an Afro like Mom or Tommy, my hair is too white or something. Even my great-great-grandmother said it before she died!"

"Well, you are not your hair, Rachel. Or anything else that has to do with your outward appearance. Don't let other people take away from how you see yourself, Black or White."

"It's not just that...I'm not Jewish enough either. I can't be. My mom isn't. It's the way their religious law is written. I'm an outsider there too."

"I'm getting the idea that you feel alone a lot of the time."

I nodded.

"Except for Derrick. He's my friend too. He's mixed, only his parents are the reverse."

"He sounds like someone nice."

"Yeah. He's on the guys' basketball team, I'm on the girl's. He told me, he knows how it feels to be different. Even my brother and sister, Tommy and Melissa, they're so much younger. They don't understand. At least I don't think they do. And they're lighter than I am. A lot of people think they're Mexican or something. Not to mention the fact that my parents are universe-famous super-heroes. We can't go anywhere. I'm serious. The paparazzi follow us around like crazy. I can't even go to school without round-the-clock protection."

"And it doesn't seem that your father's condition seems to help any."

"No. It just gives people more of a reason to stare." I sulked at the thought and crossed my arms.

We were quiet for a minute. Then I felt I needed to say something else.

Something that had been bothering me since I picked Dad's book.

"Mom's a shrink too. She tries...but..." I gulped. "She doesn't know...neither of them do..We talked over the weekend, but I don't think she gets how it feels to be..."

"What?"

"My parents...they weren't together when I was born. Not only were they broken up, but Dad...he was millions of light-years away fighting space aliens. I'm illegitimate."

There. It finally came out. But the therapist did nothing, surprisingly.

"Let me ask you another question Rachel. Do you think that the fact that your Mother and Father were not married take away from how they act towards you as parents?" Dr. Taylor put the notebook down and leaned towards me.

I scratched at my cast again.

"Um...I don't know. Mom is pretty awesome. She's been there for me since day one. She didn't have to be. But she made the choice to raise me on her own. She went to school and had a full-time government job, all with me there. And her book. Maybe the worst thing is that she does so much for so many people that I feel I have to almost wait in line to have any time with her. But the free LL Bean stuff is nice."

"Uh-huh...very interesting. From reading your mother's curriculum vitae, she seems like a very engaged person."

"Yeah."

"Do you resent her for it?"

"No. I just wished she had more time for us."

"That is understandable Rachel. But what about your father? He seems like he is very much a homebody."

"Dad is crazy. No offense."

Dr Taylor chuckled.

"I'm serious!"

"I read the police report, Rachel. Trust me, I have something to say to him. But tell me more about your feelings."

"Wow, where should I start? He left Mom high and dry to go on a crazy mission and came back in a wheelchair."

"How old were your parents when they got married?"

"I was two. But I barely remember any of it. Only living in our old house and smearing carob everywhere when he was sleep. Which was a lot...but still. It didn't have to be that way."

"Do you feel he abandoned you and your mother?"

"Yeah. Maybe if he knew about Mom being pregnant, about us, he never would have left. He never would have had to be in a wheelchair."

"That's a lot to hold onto as a twelve year old, Rachel. More than any child should have to think about."

Dr. Taylor crossed her legs and tapped her pen on the notebook.

"Maybe it's time I brought your parents in."

"No! Don't do that!" I pleaded with her.

"Well, how else are they going to know how you feel? Trust me, this is a safe place. With me here, you won't feel as if they have some sort of control over you because you are their daughter."

_I guess that would be okay..._

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Wait a second," The doctor put her clipboard down and walked out of the room. A few moments later, she returned with Mom and Dad.

Mom took a seat next to me on the couch. Dad had his wheelchair on the other side.

"Dr, Mr. Berenson, how are you both doing?"

"We're doing fine, given the situation." Dad looked a bit upset.

"Dr. Berenson, it's very surprising to see you in this circumstance. Usually when Psychologists and Psychiatrists collaborate, it's not about their kids."

Mom gave a short smile.

"Rachel and I have been having a very interesting conversation. She's been telling me in great detail about her feelings. I think she's going through a rough transition into adolescence." Dr. Taylor continued.

Dad started to open his mouth, but Mom gave him a look.

"Well, Rachel has told me that she feels out of place." Mom said gently.

"Yeah, and she makes up for it by inviting the whole middle school over our house for a late-night party." Dad shook his head.

"Jake!" Mom gave him a 'what is wrong with you' look.

"Sorry honey. I just want Dr. Taylor here to hear BOTH sides of the story. Rachel's perspective can be a little skewed at times." Dad apologized.

"The police report told me plenty about the party, Mr. BerensonI'm not here to take sides. I want to know what CAUSED Rachel to feel that she needed to act that way."

"Left out or not, she was grounded for getting into a fight with some girl at school. Then she gets all into some boy after detention." Dad tried to explain.

"Derrick's not some boy, Dad. He touched my back for a millisecond. You chased after him as a TIGER. It's worse than what I did. Aren't there some laws against that?"

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point Dad?"

Dad shook his head.

"Derrick is the only one who understands me! Even if he's not a celeb-kid, he at least knows how I feel on a daily basis," I continued to say.

"Rachel, your mother and I have been different all our lives," he adjusted his black cufflinks.

"But it's not the same!" Frustrated, I put my head in my hands.

"I think what your daughter is trying to say is that she associates with Derrick because he has to facethe same identity issues she does. It is hard being biracial even in the twenty-first century. Rachel feels like she has to pick a side even though she values all of her heritage equally." Dr. Taylor broke it down for them.

I nodded in agreement.

"Not to mention that she's a child of the Animorphs." she continued.

Dad snapped his neck at me.

"Is that what this is really about?"

"Jake, please." Mom tried to reason with him.

"No, I want to hear this. Because living in constant terror in secret for four years, seeing your brother, mother, and father being controlled by aliens, camping out in an isolated valley, then having to send your cousin to kill your own brother, and watch them both die is nothing but a walk in the park. Tell me what's harder than that. I'm dying to know."

"That's just it."

Dad looked confused.

"You expect to have this great life because of who you are. I don't want to be compared to you guys. But people do it all the time. Everyone expects me to be like you. The world-famous 'Animorphs' But I'm not. I just want to be like everyone else. NORMAL."

"Both of you have left Rachel some big shoes to fill." Dr. Taylor added for emphasis.

"But we've had this conversation with her. There's no way we can change who we are. Or who she is. I doubt she wants to go around without security and be a kidnaping target." Dad threw his hands up.

"Dad, you're ridiculous."

"I'm serious! She has no idea what we've given up, what I've given up, so that she and her brother and sister can be safe." Now Dad started to thump at his chest.

Mom was staying out of it for now.

"I know what you gave up. A family," I mumbled under my breath.

"Rachel!" Mom obviously heard me, breaking her silence.

"I've done everything for this family. Even things Rachel has no clue about-"

I interrupted him.

"Like what Dad? Walking out on Mom after you got her pregnant?"

"Rachel. Even if I did, I'm here for you now." Dad said through gritted teeth.

"It's not the same as..." I bit my lip. "Being a bastard."

Mom saw this as her time to intervene.

She wrapped her arms around me.

"Rachel, you are not illegitimate. So what we weren't married when you were born. There are plenty of people in the world, in your school, who were born out of wedlock. And there are plenty of children born IN wedlock whose parents are divorced. Your father and I came back together honey. You were mostly responsible for that happening. That is a good thing. And just because we weren't married, doesn't make you a bad person. That is our sin, not yours." Mom tried to make me feel better.

"But I read the book. You turned DOWN Dad's first marriage proposal. And you were about to marry that Ronnie dude even when Dad came back to Earth. Why couldn't you have stayed together the first time?"

Mom rubbed my back. Dad just shifted his upper body nervously in the chair.

"I would give anything, ANYTHING, to have a normal family. Just for a day."

(Crayak)

I heard the ramblings of the wildcard. This was my cue.

**SHE WANTS A NORMAL LIFE FREE OF THE ANIMORPHS.**

**SO BE IT**.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(Rae)

Dr. Taylor looked at us.

"Well, our time for this session is almost finished. I know the court has ordered four evaluations before I can make a determination about your case, but I HAVE come to some preliminary conclusions."

She turned and faced Mom.

"Dr. Berenson. I haven't had the pleasure of working with you personally, but your residency and brief time at UC Santa Barbara speaks for itself. You're a wonderful psychiatrist, and from what Rachel has described, a good mother. I AM concerned about how much time you spend at the office and with your other causes, and not with your family. I understand that your situation is…unorthodox, given your husband's condition. But your dedication to helping other people might be hurting Rachel, who is going through a difficult time right now."

Mom gripped my hand.

"I have realized my mistakes, and I will try to make a better effort to help my child."

"And as for you Mr. Berenson. I am very concerned about your behavior towards your daughter. There is a line between being a good father and taking things overboard. In your battles…in the military, it is vital that no one questions the leader."

"Of course," Dad said, putting a hand on my knee. "Because any hesitation on my part may mean the difference between life and death."

"But parenting is different from leading a platoon or teaching Xenowarfare. When you're in the military or fighting against an invading force, strong group identity and solidarity are extremely important."

"Yes, that's right." Dad clasped his hands together.

"But Rachel doesn't feel like she has a clear identity. She's practically screaming that to you. Another reason you two aren't seeing eye-to-eye is because you have the tendency to overreact about things, because of your history and position in the world. _Everyone_ knows who you are. But that should not stop you from allowing your daughter to experience her own life. Instead of attacking her all the time, try to figure out why she feels the way she does. Talk to her. Then if she misbehaves, discipline her. Communication is the key to great family relationships. It is the only way you will work your problems out."

Dad leaned back in his chair and scratched his goatee. It was obvious that he was trying to take everything in.

Finally he spoke.

"I guess it's worth a shot. But what about Rae? I know you aren't letting her off easy."

"I wasn't planning on it Mr. Berenson. Not at all."

Dr. Taylor faced me again.

"Rachel, it is obvious that your parents love you. But you need to come up with less dramatic ways to get their attention. I know you want to find your own identity, but they have been through everything you're going through right now. Seriously, they know what you are experiencing on some level. Trust in what they have to say."

I scratched my cast and looked at her skeptically.

"I have some information for you all. These are some programs that meet in the area, interracial family groups. This is Southern California after all. There's no reason for Rachel to feel as if she is by herself. And it may help your other children. I know they're young, but it will help them all build a sense of shared identity."

Mom took the brochures from Dr. Taylor. She looked them over once and hesitated

"You know, I'm not sure this is such a good idea," she started to say, "Not because I don't think Rachel needs something like this. She does. But The Sharing…" Mom's voice trailed into nothingness.

Dad finished her thought.

"What my wife is saying is that we would rather be safe than sorry."

"I don't think I'll ever completely understand what your family went through…but just think about keeping your options open."

Dr. Taylor stood up.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you all. I look forward to next Tuesday"

She shook my parents hands and we left the office building together. Most of the Social Workers had cleared out, so there were few people around.

Dad took Mom's hand "You two go on home. I'll get the tots from my parents' house and stop by the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions. Did you call in my Lithium and Klonopin?"

"Yes honey. I called in everything. Would you mind picking up some ice cream, peanut butter, and pickles while you're there?" Mom asked him.

"Why? Weird combo." Dad looked up, puzzled.

"Oh, I don't know, just hungry, I guess,"

Dad shrugged and headed up the street to his truck. A bodyguard wasn't far behind.

Mom pointed to the parking garage.

"I'm in here,"

We walked into the squat building and over to the reserved section.

As we started to pull away, I noticed Mom was silent. The only noise came from the potholes we kept hitting on the street.

"Is Dad going to hate me forever?" I looked out of the window onto the busy street, passing dumpsters and some illegible graffiti.

"No Rae, don't think that." She said as we turned and merged onto the highway. "Your father isn't used to other people telling him what to do. He's fiercely independent, as you know. But this session wasn't about him. It's about you. What do you think about her suggestion?"

"Which one?"

"Finding activities with other multiracial kids? Not necessarily groups, but things you like to do, Like dance."

I smiled.

"I could live with that."

"Would you also mind seeing Father Banion?"

"Uh…why…didn't we already see the-"

Our car got stuck in a traffic jam and we slowed down. Mom interrupted me.

"Darn this Prius! The electric battery isn't clicking on. Well, that's what I get for keeping a ten year old car." She shook her head. "Listen, when I had that talk with you this weekend, I wasn't kidding about the morals and responsibility that come with being a young woman. I want you to go to confession tomorrow. And before you open your mouth, it's not optional."

Mom stroked my hair.

"Don't worry Rachel, one day you'll find yourself."

* * *

(Crayak)

Esplin had his host in convulsions from happinesss. That silly Yeerk. But I had no other options. They were the most evil species in the galaxy. Other than humans.

They weren't on my side…yet.

_If everything went according to plan_….

"And you saw it fit to bring him out of incarceration? Really?" Edriss interrupted my thoughts.

Edriss slapped him. "Esplin! Get a hold of yourself!"

Esplin grabbed onto her.

"Don't you realize what is going on! We have a chance to undo all of this damage! I have a chance...to finally do what you never did, Take over the Earth completely."

"Get those stubbly human hands off of me, or I'll tell Crayak here to send you back to a filthy Gedd!" Edriss shoved him away.

**THE TWO OF YOU! CEASE AND DESIST! DO YOU EVER STOP? NEVER MIND. FORGET I ASKED. YOU HAVE YOUR ORDERS. ESPLIN,TAKE YOUR HOST AND USE THE HUMAN'S INTELLIGENCE AGENCY TO BREAK OFF**

**HE TREATY WITH THOSE COUNTRIES THAT USED TO POSE A THREAT TO THE COUNTRY WHERE THE ANIMORPHS NOW RESIDE. THE UNITED STATES. INCITE A TERRORIST ATTACK. THAT WILL ALLOW EDRISS TO TAKE THE BLADE SHIP AND ATTACK FROM OUTER SPACE. OR THE COUNTRY NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES.CANADA. THAT ACTUALLY MIGHT BE BETTER, AS IT WILL LEAVE THE HUMANS PENNED IN. **

"What will you do sir?"

**I WILL TURN BACK TIME AT THE RIGHT MOMENT TO ENSURE 'PRINCE JAKE' IS GONE FOREVER.**

I disappeared from their view, and then the former Vissers found themselves in the apartment of the Secretary of State.

The place overlooked the big Mall in Washington D.C. The Washington monument glowed ethereally in the background.

"Well, this is my host's place. Very nice by human standards." Edriss pointed to the antique human furniture.

Esplin sneered. "Damn Edriss…" he muttered under his breath.

"It's better than your BOX" Edriss snapped back.

"Yeah, yeah. What information did you get from Drode about the remaining Animorphs, other than their pathetic leader?"

"Well, the anomaly, Cassie, is joined to him. Married, in their lexicon. They have three offspring. Two very young ones, "Thomas" and "Melissa" and of course, the wildcard, Rachel." Edriss explained.

"They named it after their fallen comrade. How sickening." Esplin shuddered.

"The one they call Marco lives in that city called 'Miami'. Hedonistic, even for humans." Edriss chuckled.

"Are they the only ones on Planet Earth? I don't know all that happens on this vile planet."

"Yes. The Andalite Aximili and the Nothlit Tobias live on the Andalite Home World."

"Excellent. They are already split up. This will be easier than the last time."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"We always were at our best together." Esplin admitted.

"Don't try to suck up. Drode placed a mini-Kandrona and a pool in the bathtub. Come back when you need to feed. Now out!"

She pushed him towards the front door.

"But where am I going to stay?"

"Your host has a house. Now shoo!"

The door slammed right in his face.

As he left the complex, he stared up at her window. He could see the silhouette of her body against the window.

_I will get the better of you yet, Edriss…_

Esplin tapped into his host's brain power and quickly walked the few blocks back to its own Condominium.

The building was painted a sterile while color, with blue windows. Esplin could smell, through his host, the terrible stench of flesh burning in what humans called restaurants. But still, I could tell he enjoyed the freedom of being out in a world, and not locked in a box for the rest of its natural life. Esplin had his host breathe in the thick Earth air. Then it turned the human around and nodded at his doorman.

_No one will see this coming..._

* * *

(Rae)

When we got home, Mom skipped the house and took me right to the barn.

"Um, Mom?"

"Rachel, You're still grounded."

"Until December, I know. But why am I here? I can barely stand up."

"You can still help out at the clinic. Which you will be doing for a very long time."

I pouted.

"But I can't clean up the party stuff!"

"No, unfortunately, you can't. But you can help with our annual inventory."

She parked the car and popped open my door.

"Your clothes are fine, since you won't be mucking stalls right now. But go to the office. The intern, Brian, should be there."

I nodded and got out of the car. I KNEW she wouldn't change her mind.

"You know the drill. No TV, no internet except for school, no cell phone ,no house phone. No friends over unless it is for school and I get in contact with their parents." She stepped out and came over to me.

"This is for your own good, Rachel."

She kissed me on the head and made her way back up the driveway to the house. I guess she was preoccupied with something, because she didn't even stop to talk to Brian. When I walked through the front door, he was bent over a cage, hooking an IV into a wolverine.

He didn't look a day over eighteen. His blond hair was scruffy and he had maybe, three whiskers on his face.

"Oh, so YOU are Rachel. Hi. I'm Brian. One of the Interns. Your Mom said you were coming in."

He shook my right hand.

"I see you're a little indisposed…so maybe you could help me count up all the medical supplies in the back room. I need to know how much stuff we have before I order some more. You know, so we don't go over budget. Not that your Mom would mind, of course."

I politely smiled.

* * *

"Ten boxes of 500 count bandages, assorted sizes. Twenty gallons one percent saline solution. 120 intravenous packets, unused. That's all we have in this first closet, Mr. Brian."

"Great, that's great. Less to order. Hey kid, can you get into the hayloft?"

"Uh, not with this leg." I pointed down to my left leg. It was turning purplish and starting to throb.

"Well, then, take a load off with the horses. Some of them need grooming." Brian smiled.

"Um, I'm not getting into horse poop. That's nasty. Plus, I could get infected."

No WAY that I was going to spend tonight in manure.

That stink stays on you for days.

"I'll lead them out to the trough, and you can brush them down. I'd change my shoes though, you don't want to get your sneakers dirty," Brian pointed out.

He went to the back and picked up a pair of black rubber boots. I put them on and he took me over to the stables.

A couple of plastic cups and streamers still littered the floor, along with stray pieces of hay.

Mom probably left them there as a reminder of how she wouldn't forget the barn party, and how I would be making it up to her.

"Here's our new colt. King of Hearts. We adopted him from the racetrack after he broke his leg in a race. They were going to put him down, but we nursed him back to health. Your grandfather wanted to eventually have him in the program for the, um, physically challenged."

The horse was beautiful. It had a white patch on its forehead shaped like a heart, and the rest of its body was a ruddy reddish-brown color. The ADA would love it. They, the American Disability Association had Dad as a spokesperson and used our barn for promo and to have handicapped people ride horses.

"Oh." I realized.  
"We just have to tame him down a bit," Brain admitted, sheepishly

"You tell me that _before _I brush him?" I raised an eyebrow.

Brian laughed. "Just giving you a heads-up."

As I brushed King's reddish-brown fur, a feeling of peace came over me. The first time I had felt at ease in a long while. My strokes were hypnotizing. So much so that I didn't hear Mom behind me.

"Well, it looks like someone is getting the hang of things." she mused.

I hopped a few centimeters into the air.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you honey. Brian left."

"You didn't…I mean you did…but I don't mind. It's so nice out here. Peaceful." I admitted.

"Yeah, I used to come out here and spend my spare time with the horses. Even when I wasn't working. Just coming here gives me serenity."

King jumped a bit.

"You should probably put him back in the stable now. He needs to rest." She helped me walk him over and put a blanket over him. His stable had a musty smell. Along with the preserved oak wood, it sort of brought me back to the 1900's, the olden days.

"You're a natural at this, Rae."

"Aw, Mom, you're just saying that."

She cocked her head. Her warm eyes sparked and she adjusted some stray curls on her face.

"No honey. I mean it. It's in your blood. Generations of our family have worked these fields right after Emancipation. One day this will all be yours. And you'll teach your kids and grandkids how to take care of horses in this very barn."

I chuckled.

"Yeah right. I'm no country girl."

"That's what we've all thought at one point in time, and we all keep on coming back. Even your New York cousins."  
I grinned. I LOVED THEM SO MUCH!

"Are they coming to Thanksgiving dinner?"

"We'll see. It's a matter of getting everyone's schedule together. Everyone has kids now. Except Lauren. But you know, she's still in business school. And she's twenty-five. Give her time."

The sun was starting to set. Beautiful pinks, reds, and blues were painted across the sky.

"Why don't we go inside? I have dinner ready and waiting. Wash up first."

She put an arm around me and walked me out of the Barn.

"What did you make?" I inquired.

"Lentil soup and Greek salad." Mom said nonchalantly.

"Yay! Something normal!" I hid my laughter.

'What was that?"

"Nothing Mom,"  
She gave me a hug and we went inside the house.

Finally, everything seemed to be getting back to normal.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(Rae)

When we got into the house, our cable telephone rang. Yes, we still had one of those ancient land lines. Dad insisted. He said the satellite phones everyone used were too hack-able.

"I'll get it!" I yelled, hoping that it would be Tanya.

"Uh-uh. No way Missie. You're still grounded. Get in the kitchen."

I pouted.

"Oh Rach, don't give me that face!" Mom smiled into the receiver. "Dinner is on the table."

I went over to the hall bathroom to wash the stink off of my hands and face. My clothes were covered with dust and poop. Luckily, a laundry basket full of clean clothes was nearby. I changed into a fresh pair of gray sweats and went back to the kitchen.Mom was sitting at the table, waiting for me.

"Where's Dad and the Rugrats?" I asked her.

"They're at your grandparents' house. That was him calling. Your father said that there's some traffic. He'll be in soon, he just has to take the back way."

"Ah." I sat down to my place setting and blew on my soup.

It was pretty weird, just the two of us there, eating dinner. Mom and I weren't usually alone together. Not until lately.I almost forgot how nice it was to sit and talk to her.

"Here's the dressing honey." She passed me over some balsamic vinaigrette.

"Are you sure we can start eating without them?"

"Positive. He said they'll eat as soon as they get in."

I started eating the lentils. Hey, Mom didn't do half-bad on this recipe.  
"Rachel, I've been thinking. You've always liked to ride horses. And you really took to King out in the barn today. When I was little, before...all this...I used to be in a horse-riding club. I'm sure it's still around. Would you be interested in that? When you get better, of course. I don't want you riding around with a broken wrist and that leg of yours." she explained.

"Hmm..." I put my spoon down and started scratching on my cast. Tommy had signed it this morning with some big old block letters.

"Before you start worrying, it's pretty diverse. There are families that came with ours out of the South after the civil war...you remember me talking about my old friend Juan?"

"Yes Mom."

"Well, he was in it too." she pointed out as she reached for the Tabasco.

"Hot sauce Mom?"That was something REALLY weird to use as salad dressing.

"I just needed something spicier."

"Oh."

_That's strange…_

"As I was saying about the riding club, it met every day after school when I was a member. I suppose it is the same way now." Mom finished what she was saying to me. Her face was aglow.

I stabbed some tomatoes and olives with my fork. "That's when basketball practice is. Dad wouldn't be too happy about that."

"This isn't about you father Rae, or Me. It's about you. Just think about it. I'm not saying you have to make a decision right now. When you get better, you can decide which one is right for you. In a year, you will probably be so used to living here..."

I scoffed.

"No way Mom. I could never forget the Bay."

She reached over to touch my hand.

"I'm not saying you should. All of your experiences make you who you are-"

We were interrupted by the sound of kids yelling and Dad's wheelchair.

"Tommy, Tommy, you can't ride in on top of my chair! Liss! No running in the house!"

Melissa came storming into the kitchen at full speed in her little overalls. "Dinner ti-me!" She yelled.

"Hey baby." Mom kissed her head. Dad followed behind her, with Tommy hanging halfway off Dad's wheelchair.

"And what are you doing Mr. Tommy?"

"I'm gonna be like Daddy! Superhero!" He raised his little arms high in the sky. Though he wasn't dressed up like one. He looked more like Indiana Jones in his khaki shorts and yellow polo.

"Aw, that's sweet. But Tommy should be happy to be Tommy" Mom explained to him.

Tommy scratched at his Afro. Maybe it was a little to much for him to get right now.

"That might be a little over your head. But someday you will understand."

"So what's for dinner hun?" Dad rolled over to kiss Mom.

"Lentil soup and Greek Salad," she touched his cheek.

"Sounds great. Let's chow down."

They all took their places at the table.

"How are your parents?"

"Fine, fine. Mom and Dad took them out to the tennis courts in the development. I guess they wanted them to burn off some energy." Dad laughed as he placed a napkin over his lap.

"Good idea." Mom grinned.

"And I saw Sara. She's about to go off for her senior year at Irvine. She'll be in town for a few more days."

"Great. I definitely want to see her. Jordan too."

"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? Jordan and Marco are back in town."

"The one person who tamed him...I never believed they'd actually get engaged." Mom chuckled.

"It's about time. The party life only lasts so long. Hear that, Rae?" Dad winked at me.

"Yeah, yeah." The soup in my bowl was almost gone. So was my salad.

"Well, you finished your dinner, so you are excused from the table. Get started on your homework. Your father brought your book bag in, I hope."

"I did." Dad pointed to the hallway.

"Well you know what to do. Your social studies teacher sent a note home, and I'm not happy about this C you got on your last report for him. Turn it around." Mom poured herself a glass of water and gave me a stern look.

I scrunched my face up.

_Darn Mr. Turner... _

I pushed myself up slowly from the table and walked out to the hallway where Dad left my book bag. As I got up to my room, I felt my head start to hurt.

_Not again! crap, that concussion is NOT going away._

I laid down on my bed.

_A nap. Just a small nap. I'll get up later and finish my homework.  
_

But I wasn't prepared for this dream.

* * *

As I lost consciousness, I could feel everything slip away. Even the air started to flicker and quiver. Smoky haze descended all around me, haze so think that my vision was obscured. 

I couldn't see anything. Everything was just this black…..nothingness

**HELLO RAE. **

A voice. A huge booming voice. It shook me to my core. Literally. My knees were shaking, and I had no control over my body. I was a slave to this, bizarre sound.

I could hear...evil oozing from its tone. There was so much hatred, so much vileness dripping from its tone that it couldn't be anything other than pure evil.

I tried to move around, but I was in a void. There was no light, or dark, land, or air. There was nothing.

"What's going on?" I screamed. "Where am I?" How do you know my name?"

Nothing.

I tried to run, to move, but I couldn't. It was like I was trapped, watching myself.

Like I was paralyzed.

Then this huge Red Eye materialized out of nothingness.

It stared at me. The crimson veins in its eye focused directly in on me, like I was a military target. Then it Blinked.

Once.

Twice.  
****

**IT IS DONE. HE WILL DIE. 'It" said. **

**

* * *

**"AAHHH!"

I woke up, sweat dripping all over me.

My sheets were drenched.

_What in the HELL?_

I stumbled out of bed and over to my desk. Turning on the light, I took a good look at myself in the mirror.

My hair was damp to my face. I was wet all over. My cheeks were flushed red, contrasting against my caramel skin. One good thing was that my black eye had almost faded away…

_I need some water._

I clicked off the light and made my way to our dark hallway. It must have been late, because all the lights were off. Tommy and Melissa must be sound asleep, for once.

BAM!

I hit my foot against our bad top step.

"Ow!" I yelped. "Not again! Son-of-a!" Could nothing go right for me?

I stopped talking when I heard voices coming from the kitchen. Silently, I went down the stairs, trying my best not to make the stairs squeak.

When I got to the bottom of the steps, the voices got louder.

"...You're WHAT?" I heard Dad yell in shock. "Cassie, I can't believe it!"

_What's wrong with Mom?_

"Jake, I know this is unexpected, but you can't always plan these things. Lord knows I wasn't exactly counting on this happening."

"Me neither. We already have our hands full..." he trailed off into a lower voice.

"Look honey, even though this isn't what we were anticipating...you and I know the best gifts are surprise ones," Mom sounded reassuring.

Ok. I HAD to know what they were talking about. I slowly walked into the kitchen.

Dad was facing Mom, holding her in his arms. He was staring at her stomach...and his faced was loaded with concern.

"Oh, speak of the Devil..." Dad tried to joke. They quickly turned to face me.

Mom frowned. "Rae. You're drenched."

She put a hand to my head. "You're not running a fever."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Bad dream."

They exchanged worried glances.

"You haven't had nightmares in a very long time…not since you were two. What's going on?" Dad adjusted his glasses and stared straight at me, fear in his good eye.

_Should I tell them? No. They have enough to worry about, whatever is going on._

"Nothing. Just nothing. Maybe PMS?"

"PMS happens before your period, Rae. Remember?" Mom stroked my hair.

"Oh. Right. Maybe I just need something to drink." I went over to the sink and filled a glass full of water.

"Whatever it is, we're here for you. Don't be afraid to come to us." Dad tried to reassure me.

I almost spit the water out. Dad, of all people, was being warm and fuzzy.

I just wish that what they said was true.

Because I couldn't stop thinking about that huge Red Eye.

* * *

The cafeteria was bustling, full of kids going every which way. Since I already had a packed lunch, I didn't bother going up there to see the goop of the day. I did look around to see who was in the room. I didn't see Tanya, Jon, or Derrick.

_You're early. Calm down a bit._

I picked a quiet table by myself in the corner to sit down and eat my PBJ sandwich.

"Oh there you are," Tanya spotted me. "I was looking for you,"

She brought over her lunch tray over to me and sat down.

"Hey Tanya. What's going on?"

"We need to talk. I thought you know, what happened in your barn, before the uh...party...wasn't maybe real...but I've been seeing some things lately."

I dropped my sandwich.

"Like what?"

She lowered her voice and pushed some braids out of her face.

"This big Red Eye...and he keeps on coming in my dreams, saying that I can't help you...that...he's going to get me. All of us."

THAT creeped me out. I lowered my voice as well."I had the same dream too, sorta."

"What do you think it is?" She asked me. "You're like our expert on this stuff. Could it be the same evil that the uh, Ellimist was talking about?"

I scratched at my cast.

"I dunno. But it's sure starting to make sense. Have you heard from anyone else since I'm in permanent lockdown?"

She raised her eyes. "Derrick texted me a little earlier. He and Jon saw the same thing."

_Why not me? Other than the fact that they took my cell away... _

Tanya must have seen my face, because the next thing she said shocked me.

"Don't worry, he still likes you."

I raised my eyebrows. My cheeks started to blush, I could tell. She giggled.

"Wait, how do you know?"

"Oh please. Just the way he looks at you, especially in class. He LIKES you." She smiled mischievously at me.

"Right. Until my Dad nearly ripped his throat out as a tiger."

"Well, he's just scared to death of your Dad. That's normal. My Dad used to joke that he would have to sit on the front porch with a shotgun to keep the boys away from me."

I leaned back on the stiff green plastic chair.

"Dad has ruined my life for REAL." I put my head down on the table.

"Before you start freaking out, we should probably, um go check out who this monster is." Tanya reminded me.

"Oh, right." I picked my head up and tried to finish my sandwich.

"Anyplace you have in mind?" She took a sip of her chocolate milk.

"Well, my parents will probably never let me look through their stuff again...maybe we could try the museum near uh, my Cousin Rachel's memorial. I'm pretty sure they'll let me in for free."

"Can you go?"

"Well, my Dad visits her statue every Thursday. If I can be really nice to him, maybe he'll let me tag along."

"That's cool, but as you said, you're grounded to the next millennium. How will he ever let us go with you, or even let you lay eyes on Derrick."

"Dad usually sits by himself for a while...just go to the museum and I'll meet you there. Promise."

* * *

A little while later, Dad picked me up from school. I was surprised.

"Hey Dad, I thought Mom was coming today." I told him as I climberd into his truck.

"Oh, well she has a doctor's appointment. I told her I'd take you."

"Is something wrong with her?" I got scared about the conversation from last night.

"Um, no, but we'll talk about that later. Right now, I have to take you to St. Augustine's."

"With Father Banion?" I pouted.

"Still thought you could get out of it?" he chuckled.

"Yes."

"Nope." He started the ignition and pulled away. "You're going to confession. Who knows? Maybe it will be good for you."

Dad drove me away from school more towards the city.

We were silent.

He turned up the radio to some classic '90's music he had on earlier, I guess. Nine Inch Nails.

When the lyrics came on, his eyes widened.

"I wanna (bleep) you like an animal..."

"Yeah, we're gonna turn this off now that you're in the car." he switched it to a talk radio station.

_Ha, and Derrick touching my back was bad..._

"This just in, this just in. The President of the United States has just instituted restrictions on all aliens and alien travel within the United States."

"Huh. That's interesting. They usually call me in regard to Alien Affairs." Dad frowned in the rear-view mirror as he turned a corner.

The church was on the end of the street. I could see nuns walking outside the abbey.

"Look, your Mom says these things take a while, so I'm going to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. I'll be back at 4:30. No surprises. Your new bodyguard Hank will be waiting outside just in case something happens." His good eye shifted around suspiciously.

I got out of his truck and he drove off.

There was an old man with a bald spot outside, tending to some of the flowers in the walkway.

"Um, Father Banion?"

"Rachel?" He wiped his hands and stood up. "Wow, it certainly has been a while since I last saw you. The little flower girl at your parents' wedding. You look just like your Mother,"

"Uh thanks." I didn't know to take that...exactly...

"Shall we go inside?"

"Sure,"

He walked with me up to the confession booth. Unlike Berkeley, this place was modern inside, with a lot of light and desert colors.

But the confession booth was like all the others.

"Um, Father Banion, bless me for I have sinned...I haven't been to confession since 2013. In that time, wow, uh, where do I start? This year, I've gotten into a lot of arguments with my parents, gotten into a fight at school with this racist girl...and I met a guy who's really nice, but my dad wigged out for me being alone with him. They grounded me, so I threw a barn party behind their back...and they were furious...I ran away from home and almost got hit by a truck…I guess I've done a lot wrong, huh."

He was silent.

"Well, I could tell you to do seven Hail Mary's and light seven candles and make a seven dollar donation to the poor box, which I want you to do, no doubt. But I want to ask you this question. Why did you feel it in your heart to disobey them? Your parents are sacred and to be respected. That's what you've always been taught."

"Because they don't understand me. They try...but they expect me to live by these rigid set of rules...to be exactly like them, but I'm not. Sure, I love the planet, but I'm no tree-hugging hippie like Mom. Basketball is cool, but I'm not obsessed like Dad and I don't want to be a superstar like Uncle Tom. That's what he wants me to be. Like him. Actually, they want me to be carbon copies of them. I don't want that. I just want to be myself."

"And what is that?"

"I don't know. Even I have a hard time with everything that makes me, me."

"Well don't worry. You're destined for great things. I knew that ever since I baptized you, Teresa."

I smiled. My saint name.

"It's not just because your parents are who they are, either."

"You sure?"

"I really am. However, there is something else I want you to do. I want you to apologize to them. I know that one of the other reasons you may not be getting along with them was the...way...you were brought into the world,"

"How do you know that?"

"Your Mom told me."

"Heh."

"Rachel, there are many people who were born out of marriage and managed to make a great mark on the world. Even our savior. Don't let the past actions of your parents destroy your hopes for living a different future. What happened was their wrong. Don't bear the blame for it. But they want better for you. Much better. And you will achieve that. I know it in my heart of hearts."

I bit my lip."Thank you, Father."

"Anytime. I say that your sins are forgiven. Bless you, child."

I opened the door and got out of the booth. Father Banion followed.

"If you want some privacy in the sanctuary, I'll be outside, tending to the flowers."

I walked to the altar and kneeled down with Mom's old rosary beads

There were footsteps behind me.  
"Excuse me, have you seen Father Banion?" A very familiar voice said. "I was just in Catchesism class and I wanted to go to confession."

"Derrick?" I whipped around.

"Rae?" he was flabbergasted. "You go here?"He looked a little different. He had corn rowed his hair and he had a crucifix hanging around his neck. He looked extra hot!

_Darnit__! I shouldn't be thinking like that in church!__  
_

"This is my Mom's family's church...what are you doing here?"

"My family goes here too."

"Oh." He started kicking at an invisible stain on the granite floor.

"Well, I should probably go looking for him," he turned to leave.

"Wait, Derrick! We need to talk."

He stopped for a second.

"Please?"

He turned around to face me.

"Rae, I think you're cool. I really do. But-"

"But what?"

"Your Dad. I don't think he'll let me be your friend." He dropped his head. I could tell it had really been weighing on him, the whole my dad trying to kill him thing.  
I sighed. My chest started to feel heavy.

"It's the tiger thing, isn't it?" I admitted.

"Rachel, I thought he was going to KILL me! You have no idea how scared I was! Even when I first met him, I knew he didn't like me."

"Dad...he has problems, I know...but I don't. Derrick, I still think you're that cool kid who can hit any shot on the basketball court or the guy who can play the sax like Coltrane. And who held my hand when we went on that inter-dimension roller-coaster ride."

He touched my cast."I know that too, but will it be enough?" .

"It has to be, especially with the dreams. Tanya told me. You and Jon have been getting them. Probably Becky too. I can't believe this is actually real." I tried to change the subject from exclusively us.

"Neither can I. Even with the aliens..." he trailed off.

"Promise me one thing Derrick. You'll help me get to the bottom of what's going on. Even with Dad."

He smiled."Who knows...once we find out, maybe he'll cut me some slack."

I touched his cheek.

"You're sweet."

We were interrupted by the sound of Dad's truck, honking.

"Well, I should go. Dad's outside. So is Father Banion actually."

"I'll wait in here. Just tell the Father I'll be near the confessional."

We held hands for a second.  
"I will."

"Bye Rachel."

"Bye."I looked back at him, his emerald green eyes sparkled as I left the sanctuary.

I walked out of the church happy.

_At least something is going right in my life._


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(Rae)

Dad was waiting for me as I walked out of the church into the parking lot. The sun had come out again. The golden rays made me feel warm and fuzzy inside and out. Like I had just done something right.

_Maybe seeing Derrick there wasn't so bad..._

But Dad looked impatient. Like he was in a rush to be somewhere. He even popped open the doors to his big blue truck before I could grab the handle.

"Rach, come on, we have to go."

"All right, all right," I jumped into the car.

"There's something I need to tell you and your-hey is that the boy-?" Dad raised an eyebrow at seeing Derrick and Father Banion go into the church.

"No, no...come on Dad...how many people go to church here?"

He snorted.

"That better not be him...anyway...I'll explain everything when we get to the house."

Dad sped off. When I say sped, I mean the machines that push the pedals for him must be made of lead, because his coffee cup fell out of the cupholder and spilt lukewarm liquid all over the floor.

"So, how was your meeting with Father Banion?" He asked after a little bit, turning the HD radio down.

"It was fine." I deadpanned.

"Just fine?"

"Confidential too." I was NOT about to say anything to him.

"Ah, so you aren't going to tell me."

"Nope."

"Well, you know, if you feel that you have any more issues, or if you want to talk to someone else, Rabbi Kravitz is always available." We came to a stop at a traffic light.

"Rabbi Kravitz?" That was puzzling to me. I hadn't seen him in years...

"Yeah, you know...part of our family came over with part of his family to Ellis Island," Dad interrupted my thoughts.

"Dad, I know who he is...but why would he want to talk to me?"

Dad made another turn down the long bumpy road to our farm.

"Because I was thinking about what the therapist said," Dad started to say.

_You were thinking?_

"And Rachel, you can't keep denying part of who you are. You weren't born half a person. We both think it's a good idea."

"You and Rabbi Kravitz?"

"No, you and your mother." He gave me his serious look. Not the one with the vein popping out on top of his head, but his good eye was focused in on me.

"That's not fair...I don't deny who I am..."

"But you haven't shown any interest lately, either. Even for Rosh Hashanah...you disappeared on us."

"You told me some heavy stuff that night. What was I supposed to do? Smile and dance a jig?" I rolled my eyes and looked out the window at the farms and trees quickly passing us by.

"Of course not. I just want who I am to be as important to you as much as who your mom is."

_It is, but- _

Dad pulled up to the driveway. There were two limousines parked in the gravel.

_Limos? Who could be here and need limos?_

That question was answered as soon as I walked through the door.

"...and I told my co-star...there's NO WAY. I, Marco, MUST have the biggest trailer on the set!"

Someone was talking to Mom...Uncle Marco!

"Uncle Marco! OMG! What are you doing here?" I dropped my backpack and RAN over to give him a hug.

"Wow, kid. You've gotten big. You're almost taller than me." Uncle Marco joked.

"She is taller than you, honey." A woman with light brown hair came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Jordan. Cousin Rachel's sister. Wow, she looked JUST like her! I always found that slightly eerie.

"Hi Rae. You ARE getting big...almost like..." The room was silent for a second, the only sound was Dad's wheelchair entering the room.

Rachel was still on everyone's mind.

"Marco, Jordan, how are you?"

Dad welcomed them and they all started to sit down.

"Um, Rae? We need you to go into the family room with your brother and sister. There's a lot of important things we need to discuss."

I shrugged. Guess I wasn't important enough yet to know all of their 'big secrets'.

In the family room, a young lady, college-aged, was trying to break up a fight between Tommy and Melissa.

"Now Tommy, give your sister back her Barbie doll."

"Whyyyyyy?" he whined.

"Because it was your sister's first. You shouldn't pick on her because she's the baby. Being the youngest is hard enough." Sara looked up and smiled when she saw me walk through the door.

"And how are you?"

"Oh, I don't think I'll ever get them. One day they want to be all buddy-buddy with me, the next they're sending me off to various houses of worship to get sanctified and saved or something." I flopped onto the couch.

"It's good to see you too, kid."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. I know you're going through some things right now."

"Yeah, they have me seeing Father Banion and Rabbi Kravitz."

Sara laughed.

"Man, they really want you in line."

"Yeah,"

"Well hey. You did turn the barn into Studio 54 if what Cousin Jake said was right." she pulled her hair back and winked at me. What was with the winking on this side of the family? I wasn't THAT bad.

"You really trust anything my Dad says?" I gave her a spurious look in return.

"Rachel...even that's a little crazy for me, and I go to Irvine. We find all kinds of ways to party. Trust me. One time we took this keg to the roof of my apartment and-well-anyway, that's not the point."

I snorted my laughter back.

She went over to the kids."Melissa! Don't throw the ball at Tommy!" She caught a big pink plastic ball in mid-air while Melissa clapped her hands and Tommy tried to tackle Sara.

I was glad the heat and pressure was off of me for a while. So I tried to ask some questions of her after she sent Tommy and Melissa to separate corners.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you guys doing here? Usually, you guys don't come unless it's a holiday or something big-"I stopped. I remembered what I heard on the radio, about aliens being restricted to the Earth."Is this about the Aliens?"

"I can't be sure, but I think so. I've seen some troops in the streets-" she surmised.

"Troops? The Army?"

"Yeah. The National Guard, kid. Marco and Jordan personally picked me up from campus. They never do that. So I know something big is happening. And all of the rebel Yeerks...the ones that chose to ally with humans and fight against The Invasion, they were all missing from my classes."

"Humph." I was stumped. Maybe...nah. That could never happen again.

_Ever._

It was at that moment that everyone else walked in. Jordan spoke up.

"Nothing has been decided yet. So instead, we're going to go out for dinner. Cassie recommends

Le Homard, that new seafood-vegetarian place."

"Do you mind looking after the kids Sara? We would let Rachel, but she's been in need of supervision lately." Mom started to take her lab coat off.

"Aw Mom!" I grumbled.

"Rachel, this is grown up business. When you turn 21, you can come along." She smiled and shook her head.

"Promise?"

"Yes."

They all turned to leave. As they were filing out to the limo, Tommy grabbed my good arm and started to point.

"Rachel, let's go outside and play kickball!"

I looked at Sara and shrugged.

"Let's let them run around for a few minutes. They'll probably tire themselves out in a few minutes. That's what um, Rachel used to do." Sara told me.

So she let them run free around to the back and we sat down on the old concrete steps leading down the back porch.

We both sat down on the steps leading into the house.

"Hey Sara, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Melissa was trying to whack Tommy with a wiffle ball bat.

Those two should never play organized sports. They'll murder someone.

"Do you remember...Rachel? I mean, duh, you do, but, how well do you remember her?"

Sara ran her hands through her hair and bit her lip.

_Crap. you always ask the wrong questions._

"You know, I was only a few years older than Tommy when she died. I remember your Mom coming over to spend time with her. I remember her looking after me a bit, like you do with your little brother and sister. She would always sneak out of the house, I remember her opening the window for, Tobias...but my memories are starting to fade with time. I'm worried I won't have anything left at all."

She looked down.

"It's bad enough that people try to compare us all the time. I'm my own person, y'know? That's part of the reason I went away to Irvine. To get away from all of this. And Mom. She's off her rocker, if you know what I mean."

I had to giggle at Aunt Naomi being crazy. She seriously had some issues, especially towards Dad. Even I didn't hate him that much.

"But it's even worse when you don't remember your own sister. That's why you should spend as much time as possible with Tommy and Melissa. Even if they get on your last nerve. Life changes that fast."

* * *

Going to school was different the next day. I don't know what was going on with the aliens, but it seemed that there was more police around as Mom drove me in. Even the Army was patrolling around more of the major streets.

Mom was quiet on the way in. I guess she had enough to worry about, so I didn't bother her.

Neither did Tommy. But when we dropped him off, a soldier escorted him into the building with Mom.

"Whoa, Mom. Is that really necessary?" I asked when she got back into the car.

"Yes. You're getting one too. There have been some...issues with the aliens lately. This is just a precaution. Your father called in the National Guard as a special favor for us."

_Usually precautions don't require machine guns._

Mom pulled up to the Junior High building a little while later and she squeezed my hand.

"Look, I know your father won't approve of this, but-" she handed me my cell phone. "You get this back. For TODAY only. I can monitor your calls...so no talking too your little boyfriend."

My cheeks flushed RED hot.

"He's NOT my-"

"Rachel, it's natural to feel these this about boys at this age." She kissed me on the cheek. "Have a good day sweetie."

Thoroughly embarrased, I opened the door to the car and a soldier standing in fatigues with a automatic weapon came up to my side of the door. If the kids used to stare at me the first day of school with my old bodyguards...let's just say they had permanent lockjaw when they saw me come in with a soldier.

No worries though. They were just going to have to deal.

The soldier was really nice though, He was a private named Doug. He just graduated from high school last spring and was telling me that he went to this school, too, when he was my age.

"I wonder if Mr. Turner is still here," he asked me.

"Oh yeah. I have him." I chuckled.

"We'll have fun today in your class. At least you'll know all the answers," he smiled.

I guess we had to. I'm dragging a soldier to class with me because my shape-shifting parents feel my life is in danger from mind-reading aliens.

_My_

* * *

"Ew, this lunch food hasn't changed at all." Doug slammed his fork down in disgust. "I'd rather be eating MRE's. I mean, we don't have bright orange food in the Army. This looks like...hair dye."

"Do you want half a vegan turkey sandwich?" I asked him. "It's organic and fair trade and all that stuff. With natural pesto sauce. My Mom's favorite."

"Somehow that sounds worse." he shuddered.

We were sitting in the lunchroom. My first few classes had gone well, despite Doug sitting next to me. Even Mr. Turner poked some fun at Doug 'repeating' the 7th grade. I guess if it weren't so tense out there, we could all enjoy the humor more.

Tanya spotted me at this moment and decided to come sit next to me for lunch. I didn't see Derrick or Jon anywhere. That was OK, I'd see them in band.

Tanya pulled out a stiff red chair and brought it up to the table."Hey girl. Um, who is this?"

"Oh this is Doug. He's watching out for me today."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Does this have something to do with all of the soldiers and police walking around?"

I nodded.

"Oh this can't be good." She shook her head. "And Becky said there was this big peace rally/ sit-in downtown and she couldn't meet up with us. She's going after school"

"Rally for what?"

"What do ya think? Aliens, Apparently they're taking away their rights and sequestering them into camps. All day, there are going to be protests."

"As well they should. Them being here, it ain't natural. They should be on their own planet." Doug snorted.

Both Tanya and I looked at each other. I don't know what this guy had been through, but I definitely knew know that sometimes, things weren't so Black and White. (A/N: Pun intended)

Just then, Doug and I both felt out cell-phones vibrate.

I looked down at the screen.

MOM.

_Uh-oh._

Doug looked up.

"That was your Mom. She says I need to get you home immediately. Apparently, it's code red."

"Code Red?" I was confused.

"Apparently, down at those protests, all hell has broken loose."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 18

Same Disclaimer Applies. I own NADA. Nothing.

Doug shrugged and put his machine gun over his shoulders.

"Your Mom said that there's been a bomb threat at the protest by some freedom fighters. Your father is not taking any chances. They want you home, now."

I pouted. All of my thoughts were on this afternoon, when we would finally test out our powers.

But that wasn't happening now.

Looking back towards Tanya at the table, I sighed as she rearranged her braids back into a ponytail.

"Well, it looks like it won't be today, Tanya. We'll have to wait until later." I looked at her. Disappointment was all over her face. But she tried to put a positive spin on everything.

"Rae, I understand. Look, go home to be with your family. We'll try to work this out later."

I nodded and followed Doug out of the cafeteria. We took my things out of my locker and I enjoyed a VERY bumpy ride back to the farm on the back of Doug's Hummer. Mom would have protested on an ordinary day, but my life was always anything but ordinary.

Something was off. I don't know what, but I got a chill down my spine as we came up the now-familiar driveway to the farmhouse. For one, I could see some familiar cars. My grandparents. Another Limo.

_There must be something more serious than a bomb threat. _

He parked out near the bard and we both got out. As soon as I opened the door my suspicions were confirmed.

My little siblings were sitting on the floor, crying, with my grandmothers trying to console them. Grandpa was solemnly talking to cousin Jordan and Uncle Marco, while Pop-Pop was hugging on Mom's shoulders.

Dad looked up, like he was going to regret what he was about to say to me.

"Rae, close the door. You need to sit down for this."

I sat on the stiff-backed loveseat in the living room. Funny thing was we almost never used this room. Now everyone was stuffed in it.

"There was something other than a bomb threat, Rae. Last night, an astronomer from The Air Force was killed with a high-powered Dracon Beam. Inside job. Apparently he saw a ship halfway between the dark side of the moon and Mars. The ship looked like…." He looked away, "The Blade Ship." Then his focus was back on me. "The government is not taking any chances."

Mom left Pop-pop and went over to my side.

"Honey, we got the call this morning, and it was a terrible decision to make, but we have no choice. The military has asked for our help."

Dad rolled over to her.

"They need us to go. To Washington. Now."

"WHAT?" I gasped. "There was no way that, this, you, can't- " No words, none, could express my total shock at this situation.

"We won't be fighting Rachel. We're not in any condition to do so. We're just going to give them tactical and field advice." Dad tried to reason with me.

"But it's not fair! They were supposed to leave you alone!"

Mom hugged me.

"Sweetie, we don't have a choice. There are bigger things than you and I…but I promise you that NOTHING will happen to us. You hear me?"

I nodded my head. Some tears started to come out which only made my little sibs cry even harder.

"Our helicopter is waiting for us, Rachel. We need to go immediately." Dad came up to me and gave me an awkward hug.

"Yeah, Tadpole," Marco came over and mussed my hair, "Nothing's going to break us. How many times have we been on the brink of destruction and survived?"

I laughed through my tears. Leave it to Uncle Marco to crack me up during a time like this.

Everyone exchanged hugs and kisses, then Doug came in from the outside and made a motion with his wrist.

"It's time." Mom paused for a moment, then she reached around her neck. She pulled the locket that she's always worn since the time of the dinosaurs. I never knew what was in it, but that wasn't important now.

"Whenever you get lonely or scared, just hold this, and think of me, and everything will be ok." I smiled up at her.

_Hopefully Mom, Hopefully._

I watched them leave, and then I noticed something that wasn't apparent to me before. All of our clothes were packed up. My suitcases were at the door.

"Um, Grandma, what is this?"

"Oh." Everyone started to look like they have been busted.

"Well, honey, you know how your father feels about protection...he doesn't feel the farm is safe enough…even with the invisible electric fence, the bodyguards, gates and the tripwires. He wants you to come stay with us in the development."

_Another move, huh. Well, why am I not surprised, especially with my life?_

"Well, who is going to stay in the house?"

"Oh don't you worry, the National Guard will protect it. But we need you closer, and safer."

"There's another thing, honey. Your father….due to your recent hi-jinks in school, and your behavior, and the state of the world, your father decided to home-school you three until this settles down."

I could have protested but I was emotionally drained. Too tired to put up a fight. The only thing I could do was clutch the locket.

More changes. This wasn't even right.

Grandma sat next to me, dragging Tommy and Melissa. All my family could do was share in a collective hug.

* * *

Trust me, it's not easy moving in with my grandparents they're like, obsessed with us. Our pictures are everywhere in their house. More pictures of us are in their house than of Dad…or even Uncle Tom. Sometimes I feel like they want to make up for what happened to them by spoiling us…not that I'm complaining…it's just annoying sometimes. Like Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, they joked to me that they almost had to fight with Grandma and Grandpa to share custody with us while Mom and Dad were away.

I contemplated that among many thoughts as I sat downstairs in my PJ's, drinking orange juice. I could hear Grandpa praying in the front room

Grandma came downstairs and pulled out some Muselix.

"Hi Rae. We picked up some Lucky Charms for you. I know those are your favorite. Just like your father."  
"Um, thanks." I reached over the cabinet for the box.  
_I'm trying NOT to be like him…_

"Don't mention it. By the way, after you finish that, you…need to go on a trip. Let's call it a field trip."

_Uh oh._

"You father wanted you to speak with Rabbi Kravitz. We cleared the space today to do it. Nope, don't think you were going to get out of it. Your grandfather is going to take you after breakfast."

"But I just saw Father Banion!"

"Well, there's no harm in speaking to someone else. It will be good for you. You may be surprised. Look Rachel, this time in a young girl's life…it's very confusing. None of us want you making any bad decisions."

She reached across the table and touched my hand.

"I have full faith in you Rachel. Now show everyone else that they can have faith in you too."

I smiled back at Grandma. In her eyes, it was obvious that she was thinking about Uncle Tom and Dad, that if she had been there, been more involved, that the alien situation would never have happened. But it was bigger than them, bigger than us. This whole messed-up situation was just insane.

"Oh good, Rae, you're here. How was last night? Did Lyssie keep you up?" Grandpa walked in from the living room.

My new room was Dad's old room, ironically. I was sharing it with Melissa while Tommy got Uncle Tom's room.

"Yeah, she was fine. She was knocked out after all of that crying last night."

"Well, Jean, give the kids a few more hours to sleep in. I need to take Rae in. Finish breakfast and get a shower, and then we can go."

* * *

We got to the synagogue about an hour later. The parking lot was nearly deserted except for one sedan.

"We're here." he drove home the point.

Grandpa walked me to the door and pointed left, away from the door.  
"Rabbi Kravitz has his office down there. Just go down the hall to his office, he'll be there. I'm going to go sit for a minute. I need…to reflect and pray in the sanctuary." He walked in the opposite direction of me. I took a moment to take everything in. Of course this was my family's synagogue, but since I was almost never here, everything looked new to me. There were beautiful purple and blue carpets on the floor and the walls were inlaid with stained glass. I pulled away from those and started to look at the pictures of the congregation on the wall. I could see my grandfather in some, some other cousins in others. But one stopped my heart. It was taken about 15 years ago. It was the Men's youth basketball team. My Uncle Tom was in the center, holding the ball and smiling.

_This must be Pre-Yeerk._

"Rachel Berenson?" An old lady came from down the hallway, "The Rabbi will see you now,"

I pulled away from the picture, but I could feel my dead uncle's eyes on the back of my head.

_Spooky._

I followed the lady back into the office and sat down in a plush blue chair.

Rabbi Kravitz sat across from me. Like Grandpa, he was wearing a black kippah. But unlike Grandpa, He was young. Really young. His dark hair peeked out from under his kippah and he had a medium beard, sort of like the one Dad would grow when he didn't shave. He only seemed to be a few years older than Mom and Dad.

"Surprised? Yeah, my grandfather was the original Rabbi Kravitz. I'm just trying to follow in his footsteps. I took over the congregation last year while my grandfather retired to San Diego."

I chuckled. My grandparents, all of them, used to joke about going there too. I looked at the walls. There were a lot of decorations in Hebrew. I also saw a lot of old pictures, including the rabbi's grandfather with my great-grandfather, rest his soul.

"Ah Rachelle Naomi."

"Rachelle? Only Abba called me that..." (A/N: Abba-her Great-Grandfather)

"Yes...it's your Hebrew name. A very beautiful one."

I smiled. He leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I got a call from your grandfather that your father wanted you to talk to me about some things."

My cast was itching again. Good thing it was going to be off soon." Yeah, I guess."

He continued to talk.

"It must be hard for you here, with your mother and father at the Pentagon."

"It is. I get scared sometimes, that the whole war, with the Yeerks and the One, the invasion will begin again, and I'll lose them."

He leaned back in the chair.

"You know Rachel, I never thought that any of it was real. My entire life, I've studied the word of HaShem and nothing like this...could ever be fathomed. Even from Adam, HaShem always made it clear that we were to have free will. For it to be taken away...it is like he lost his faith in humanity. Your family helped save creation. For that, we are all grateful. Rachel, I don't think anything will happen to your parents. For saving his world, I believe HaShem has surrounded them with special protection."

"So why is Dad in a wheelchair?"

"The body may be broken, but the mind and heart isn't." Rabbi Kravitz clasped his hands together.

"He loves his family so much. It pained me to see your family torn apart because of...what happened."

I bit my lip.

"Is that what has been bothering you?"

"No, Rabbi."

"Was it this barn party your grandfather told me about?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Why would you disobey your parents?"

"I mean, as great as everyone thinks they are, I don't think they understand me. I don't think many people do."

"Because you are biracial?"

"Yeah. And bi-religious. Not technically. I know. My mom isn't Jewish. But enough of our family is."

"Rachel. Skin color doesn't define who you are. Those attitudes, prejudices, are repulsive. There are Jewish people from India to Ethiopia to Morocco and Argentina, and everyplace in between. As far as your heritage, the law is the law. There is nothing I can do to alter it. But it doesn't change who your ancestors are. When in doubt, try to draw on their strength."

"Thanks Rabbi."

He smiled.

"So are you staying with your father's parents until the threat is over?"

"Part time. My Mom's parents will be looking after us too."

"Why don't you come to service tomorrow? It would be good for all of you, your brother and your sister, to come learn more about your heritage..."

Rabbi Kravitz smiled.

"It's funny your Dad sent you here, he used to skip Hebrew school when he was little. He and...your big cousin Rachel. When they did come, they were always getting into it in the back.. And after his Mikveh and his Bar Mitzvah, I never saw him around. Not until all of this was over..." He stopped, probably thinking about Cousin Rachel and Uncle Tom. "I know he wants better for his children. Believe in that."

He paused for a second.

"Hey. How about you come to services tomorrow? I really think it would be good for you and your little brother and sister. Come celebrate with us!"

"Sure,"

"Great, great, that's what I like to hear. Now our time is almost up, but if you have any more questions, feel free to call me." He handed me a business card. "Shalom, Rachel."

I smiled and stood back up. He nodded as my Grandfather (probably) knocked on the door.

"Shalom, Rabbi," I answered back.

"Come in!" Grandpa opened the door.

"Don't worry Dr. Berenson. I think your granddaughter is going to do just fine." The Rabbi smiled at me.

"Thank you, Rabbi. Look at you! Time flies. I'm sure your grandfather is so proud of you."

"He is, he definitely is."

I stood up and my Grandfather put his arms around me.

Then I had another vision, and not a good one.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Same disclaimer applies.

I looked around, and I wasn't in the Rabbi's office. Instead I saw nothing but burnt out cars, trash, and gray street grit everywhere. I was surrounded by abandoned and gutted out buildings, and there was thick smog in the air. The smog was all over my clothes too. I could barely breathe. Just as I opened my mouth to scream,

...I was back insde the synagouge.

"Rachel, RACHEL?"

I shook my head and looked up.

My grandfather and the Rabbi were staring at me.

"You still with us?" He half-joked.

"Yeah, I was daydreaming. I'm sorry." I bit my lip. "Thank you again for everything, Rabbi Kravitz."

"Anytime Rachel." he smiled at me.

'Grandpa went over to shake his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow, Larry."

"Absolutely Steve, Absolutely."

Grandpa took my hand and we walked around to the front of the synagogue.

Then we got in and started to drive off. I think Grandpa wanted to let me absorb everything, my heritage, my talk with the Rabbi, so he didn't say anything to me. He just kept his eyes on the road.

"Oh boy, Rae, it might take us a little longer to get home, something is blocking the main road.

It looked like a bunch of people, no, Aliens? marching on the street.When I say a LOT, I mean a thousand, easily.

There were a lot of cops too. One alien was on the stage, and the rest were chanting and cheering, but the cops were putting them into busses. Even some of the big Hork-Bajir.

"NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE! ALIENS AND HUMANS! EQUAL RIGHTS FOR EACH!" The aliens yelled out.

"WOULD EVERYONE FORM A SINGLE LINE AND PLEASE GET ON THE BUS! THANK YOU. WE DO NOT WANT TO USE FORCE." The cops were yelling into bullhorns.

"This is insane Grandpa. No offense. Why do all the aliens have to go away? It just isn't right."

He looked at me sadly.

"I wish I knew Rae, so many things in the world aren't right."

As we drove closer, I could hear individual aliens scream.

"I bet you're not so tough without your guns, pig." A human-controller spat out.

"Myitt, in the bus. We don't want to use the handcuffs." A cop grabbed her.

I giggled. But then I realized that this wasn't funny. I learned about World War II in history class, weren't we doing what the Americans did with the Japanese internment camps?

Grandpa turned down a side road, away from the spectacle.

When we got back to the house, Grandma was outside hanging up laundry and watching Tommy and Melissa play pirates outside.

Grandma put down the basket of laundry, reached through the car, and kissed my cheek.

"How was it?"

"It was good." I said as Grandpa parked the car. "Hey Grandma, can I ask you a favor?"  
"Go ahead,"

"Can I have some people over from school? I know, uh, Tanya wanted to bring some stuff I had left in her locker and-"

"Sorry Rachel, I personally would love to, but your parents said no. I don't want to undermine them."

I pouted.

"Rachel, don't think of this as punishment, this is more like _character-building_ to become a stronger person."

"But Dad had people over all the time!"

"That was different. They were saving the world."

_How do you know I'm not?_

"When we talk to your parents next, maybe they can come to some sort of agreement. It's not healthy fo you to be by yourself," Grandma admitted.

I raised an eyebrow. Wow, they were interesting people. Why couldn't Dad have come out cooler?

HUMPH.

Instead of seeing the little kids, I went inside. At least they were letting me watch TV, unlike Dad's crazy self.

I flipped on the TV. Tiger Woods winning golf, that's nothing new.

Some stupid reality shows. Law and Order. Mom and Dad said that it was too old for me, but I snuck downstairs to watch sometimes. But I wasn't in the mood for heavy legal drama, I had enough in my life.

* * *

Finally, MTV 5 was having a 'hit-list' with the best of Bob Marley on it. It was old, but I liked Old-School music. Reggae is relaxing to me. That and punk. There's nothing better to wake up to than some classic Fall Out Boy. But my baby has to be Corbin Bleu. I've been obsessed with him since they did 'High School Musical 3' and my parents took me to see the stage show. He's just so fine...

I don't know, but by musing, I must have fallen asleep in front of the TV. The house was dark and the sun was about to go down. I checked upstairs, downstairs, and outside. There was no sign of my grandparents, Tommy, or Melissa.

A note on the kitchen table told me everything.

Rachel,

You were asleep so we didn't want to bother you. Tommy and Melissa have a play date. We should be back around 8 PM.

Grandma and Grandpa.

SCORE! I knew just what to do...

I picked up the phone.

"Hey Tanya..."

* * *

Soon, everyone what over my grandparents' house. 

"Nice to see everyone again!" I gave everyone hugs and high-fives.

"You too, girl, we thought your Dad had you in an underground bunker." Tanya cracked a pretty good joke.

I laughed.

"Almost. You never know what to expect with him. Well, we only have 2 hours, so let's get to this, shall we? We all know that we have the power to see forwards and backwards in time. Let's see how far we can go."

We all held hands in a circle.

"Now think of some historic event...on Earth"

I closed my eyes, and with the others, we started swirling around, like we were in a windtunnel. It was amazing to see, there were stars and planets surrounding us, then nothing but white. Finally we ended up somewhere...at Bob Marley's last concert.

"Bob Marley?" Becky thought out loud.

"There was a marathon today on M5. Sorry guys. How about V-Day, World War II?" I suggested.

We held hands again and were taken to Times Square, New York City. There were soldiers and saliors everywhere cheering, women dancing in the streets, and ticker-tape parade.

"Now this is what's up, better than an episode of the Twilight Zone on TV Land." Derrick nodded his head and smiled.

"Wait, don't you think we should stop?" Jon let go suddenly..

We were transported back into the future.

"Whoa, what'd you do that for?" Becky nearly spat at him.

"If we alter the past, we alter the future. We can't afford to do that. Time Travel 101." Jon reasoned.

"But the future will just correct itself with the presence of an anomaly. Duh. I was enjoying that party." Becky

I saw car lights coming from my basement window.

"Oh no! My grandparents are home! Sorry guys, you have to ..you know"

"Us hiding from your folks. That's a theme with you there, Rae," Derrick smiled.

Luckily I didn't hear them coming down the stairs, they went up.

Quietly, everyone came up from the basement and into the laundry room. Grandma came down just as everyone made it.

"What are you thinking about."

"Seeing the world Grandma, just seeing the world."

"Well, we'll have plenty of chances to do that once your parents get back from helping the government. Me personally, I'd

love to see Ayers Rock in Australia, but it's up to you all." She picked up a basket of laundry. "Don't forget to wash your

laundry tonight, otherwise you'll have a week of stinky clothes." She smiled and went upstairs.

I motioned for the others to get out.

"Sorry it has to end like this, but if they catch you guys here, they'll roast me alive."

"We understand Rae, we really do." Derrick gave me a quick hug. "Take care of yourself."

Even though I was slightly embarassed, I played it off and gave everyone else hugs too. Then they snuck out through the back door.

_I have a great group of friends. Hopefully as great as what Mom and Dad had. _


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Same Disclaimer Applies

The next day Grandma took us out for some P.E.

In her world, that means tennis lessons.

Apparently she and Grandpa were locally ranked. And of course they wanted to pass on that wonderful talent to us. Bright and EARLY in the morning.

I tried to protest, but Grandma wasn't listening.

"I'm not even any good at Tennis! Can't I just take one of Dad's old basketballs and hit the court in the development?" I complained as she pulled the sheets off of me.

"Now Rachel, you aren't in any condition to play basketball. And even if you were, it's time for you to learn new things," she said in her assuring tone.

Now Basketball, I was pretty good at. But Tennis? I still had my cast on and I could barely swat that annoying green ball. I had horrible hand-eye coordination when it came to small objects.

Sighing, I yawned as Grandma went to wake up Melissa. Running my hands through my frizzy hair, I felt something that wasn't supposed to be there.

I pulled it out.

It was white Ticker Tape.

So we DID go back into time last night!

You know, before last night, I was becoming more and more convinced that I was crazy, that I had no super-special-secret powers, and that everything else was just a trip.

I guess not.

"NOOOOOO, Grandma, I stay in bed!!!!!!!!!" Melissa wasn't any happier about playing tennis than I was, it seems.

I chuckled and got out of bed before the great race to the bathroom was going to begin. If Tommy and Melissa got there before me I would have no prayer of hot water.

"Grandma, I'm going to use the bathroom," I piped up.

"Sure thing honey," She wasn't paying attention. She was trying to get Melissa out of bed.

I got up, went to the linen closet, got a fresh towel and washcloth, and snuck into the bathroom before anyone could get there.

Life was nice enough with Grandma and Grandpa, but was it really necessary? I mean, why couldn't just Mom or Dad have gone off to help the government? Why did they both have to go? It seems like Grandma and Grandpa…no, I know they didn't MEAN to, but it was like they wanted to replace our parents. But we already had a Mom and slightly off-kilter Dad that raised us the way they wanted to be raised, and loved us, at least in Mom's case.

I actually heard a thump from Tommy's room.

_It looks like he's up too. Let me just take a shower._

The hot water seared over my back.

_AHHHHHHHH_ I thought. The water was pulsing all over the bag that covered my cast and me.

_I could stay in here forever, it's so peaceful. Just me enjoying MYSELF in here. _

Eventually the hot water ran out (too bad!) so I hopped out and dried off and ignored the line that my family formed outside the bathroom.

"Rachel, you took 20 minutes!" Grandpa complained.

"Oops," I mumbled as I made my way back to my room. Hey, the little kids usually wasted so much time in there; I was due a day where I could have it all to myself. On the bed, Grandma had been nice enough to lie out a tennis suit for me.

_HA. HA. She's going all out with this. _

Slowly, I got dressed. At the end, I didn't look like Venus or Serena Williams but I did look REALLY preppy, another look I despised. Right down to the white cutoff shirt and the white skirt.

After I finished tying up the tennis shoes they had been nice enough to get me, I went downstairs for breakfast.

As soon as I pulled out the Lucky Charms, the videophone rang. I curiously went over to see who was calling. It was Mom and Dad!

Okay, well, maybe I wasn't_ that _excited, but if was good to hear from them.

When I pressed the on button, their faces popped onto the screen.

"Hello Rae," Dad said.

"Hi Dad,"

"How's everything going, tennis champ?" He smiled.

"Tennis Champ? Did you know about this beforehand?"

He just kept on smiling.

"DAD!"

"Hey baby. Ignore him. You look wonderful." Mom's voice of reason came over through the screen. They were holding hands and wearing all black.

"Wow, I didn't expect to hear from you guys so soon, I was pretty sure that the government would hide you guys forever." I marveled

"Oh don't worry, they're doing that," Mom assured me "But we just needed to check in and see how our babies were doing."

"Mom, I'm not a baby. I'm almost thirteen! A teenager!"

"Rae…" Dad started to raise his voice.

"Well, anyway, where's the rest of the gang?" Mom asked.

"Oh, Grandma and Grandpa are upstairs giving Tommy and Melissa baths." I answered.

"Well, we'll give you guys a call another time. Just remember that we love you." Dad said.

"I love you guys too…be safe…. what ever you're doing." I told them.

They ended the transmission just as Grandma came down the stairs.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, that was Mom and Dad. They just called briefly to say hello, but you guys were upstairs and-"

"Drat," Grandma cut me off. "I was really waiting for their call. They can't just dial up and chat anytime. They're sequestered." She explained.

"I wonder what they're doing," I said out loud.

"I'm sure the government has them mixed up in some mess. All of this with these aliens I swear-"

"Honey, Tommy and Melissa won't get dressed!" Grandpa complained

"Coming right up! I'll be right back, sweetie," Grandma kissed me cheek and went back upstairs.

I just shrugged my shoulders and pulled out the box of Lucky Charms again. Before I could eat a bowl, the cavalry had arrived. Tommy and Melissa were cleaned and dressed up in Tennis clothes. Wow, Grandma and Grandpa work miracles.

"Ray-chel. Pass the ce-real." Tommy said to me after he sat in the seat next to me.

"Sure thing." I poured myself a bowl and passed the box to Tommy.

"Are you two excited to play?"

He nodded yes, I shook my head no.

"Rachel, we're going to make you a tennis star. Just you watch."

I raised my eyebrows and got back to finishing off my cereal.

* * *

"Now just swing at elbow's length for the forehand. Swing it parallel to the ground honey. Don't be so tense. Let it naturally go." Grandma was trying to tell me instructions as I completely missed the ball. I told you that I had no hand-eye coordination. 

Or at least I used to.

"Once more," Grandpa said from the sidelines while holding back the two little ones.

"Let's try it again. Swing then follow through." I could tell from my shadow that I looked like a madwoman trying to fight someone.

Grr. I was getting frustrated.

_Deep breaths Rae. Deep breaths. _

Ok, Grandma, let's try it again.

Grandma served me the ball. I squinted my eyes and concentrated really hard…

And the ball froze!

In fact…EVERYTHING FROZE AROUND ME!

Time literally STOPPED!

What the hell! Were my powers increasing? Or did those creatures, the Ellimist? want to talk to me.

I even went up to the ball to touch it. It didn't drop, it stayed where it was. Everyone else was frozen. Grandma, Grandpa, Tommy, Melissa. Even the mailman driving by.

I stopped time.

I HAD STOPPED TIME. But it might not be the best thing to keep time stopped like this.

So I squinted again…

… And the ball flew past me! Time started up once more. I tried my best to get back to my original position.

"Rae! How did you end up there?" Grandpa laughed.

I bit my lip.

_You don't want to know._

"I have an idea, let me try serving." I suggested. "Maybe I'll have better luck."

I tossed the ball in the air and squinted just at the right time to stop the ball. Then I slapped it hard across the net.

"Good job Rae! That's great improvement!" Grandma was shocked.

I grinned.

She served me 2,3,4 more. I stopped time and hit them on the spot.

_Just wait and see…I'm going to improve a lot of things._

_Tennis, basketball, I could use this in a lot of sports. Not just sports, I mean, this could be used for anything!_

In the middle of my thoughts, some dark government SUV's drove up to the tennis courts.

Anytime this happened, it could not be a good thing.

Two men wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses came out of the front car and over to Grandpa. He whispered in his ear. Grandpa froze up and grabbed the hands of Tommy and Melissa.

"Jean, we need to go back to the house, immediately," He started packing up all of the tennis balls and racquets. "Kids, help me out here."

"Grandpa, what's going on?"

"No questions Rae just do it." Grandpa's mood had shifted fast into a mean one.

"Alright, Alright." I helped clean up the tennis courts and the government SUVs escorted us back to the house where Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop were waiting.

They did not look happy. In fact, Mom-Mom was crying again.

_Uh-oh._

Grandpa parked, then Grandma hopped out of the car and ran right over to Mom-Mom. We got out of the car and helped her up into the house.

The Videophone was on.

Dad was on the screen.

"Dad? What's happening? Why are there FBI agents at the house?"

"Sit down Rachel. I have some bad news for you. About 1 hour ago, you mother and Uncle Marco had to assist some Xenowarriors in battle against The One in outer space. Unfortunately…" I heard pain in his mouth "They were…kidnapped…"

"WHAT!?!?!?! DAD! OH MY GOSH!"  
"Rae, Rae, calm down!"

"I CAN'T calm down! How could you let something like this happen to Mom? How could you? This is all your fault!"  
"Rae, we never planned for any of this to occur-"

"Never planned? You said you would never fight again, why should I believe you now? Dad! If something happens to her I SWEAR I'll never forgive you."

Dad hung his head down. He knew that it was his entire fault.

"Rachel, I don't care if your mother is on the dark side of the moon or Mars, you don't speak to your father that way." Mom-Mom stopped crying long enough to chastise me.

"Yell at him, not at me. He is the one that is going to get Mom killed."

"Now don't think like that baby. Your mother, father, Marco. All of them are covered in Teflon. They ALWAYS find a way to get out of any situation."

"Not when cousin Rachel died. And Tom." Oops, I had said it. But there was no turning back. "Now Mom and Uncle Marco are going to die too. It's not fair!" I turned to run up the stairs. Screw my grounding. I needed to talk to Tanya, like, right now.

The phone was in the hallway, I picked it up and frantically dialed Tanya's number. I needed to talk to someone my age.

By the time Tanya picked up, I was in tears.

"T-T-Tanya…I need to talk to you…"

"What girl, I'm cutting gym class to be on my cell-" she started to stay.

"My mom…the aliens kidnapped her."

"Oh Lord, honey, I am so sorry. Look. I'll come over as soon as I can. I'll tell the others too. Your grandparents HAVE to let you see us."

"I hope. Just call me back when you can."

"Keep your head up, babe. I'll sneak over to see you soon."

"Bye,"

"Bye,"

I slid down onto the floor and started to cry. I could already hear my little siblings start to wail and scream so no one noticed my tears, but I was still crying.

I just wanted my mother to come back alive.

We couldn't even enjoy a game of tennis without something going wrong.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Same Disclaimer Applies

After a little bit, I put the phone back in the holder. My eyes were dry, but that was only because I had cried them out. I was still sick with fear for Mom.

I needed to know more. I needed to know exactly what was going on.

Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I went back into the family room. Tommy and Melissa were gone; I guess Mom-Mom took them to the den, because she wasn't in the room either.

All my other grandparents were talking to the FBI guys.

"Rachel, baby, you're back."

"Yeah, Pop-Pop" I tried to force a smile. "It's always something with us, isn't it?"

"Now don't get negative Rachel, you know and I know that your parents will find a way out of this." Grandma started to say

"This? I don't know Grandma, I don't even know what's going on!" I complained.

"This information is on a Need-to-Know basis. Trust us little girl, we're doing everything we can to get your mother back." One of the FBI guys slicked back his hair.

_Little Girl? I was almost 13! But you know what, if they won't save her, I will!_

I turned away again to go up the stairs.

"Rae, where are you going?"

"Well, since you want to leave me out of the loop, there's really no reason for me to be here is there?"

I stormed up the stairs, who did that guy think he was? When I got to my bedroom, I collapsed onto the bed and the tears started to pour again. I mean, with all of these stupid psychic powers and time stopping powers, I couldn't protect the person who meant the most to me.

But life has a tricky way of showing you just how everything comes together. I must have cried myself to sleep that night, in the bedroom Grandma set up for me, wearing my tennis outfit.

But when I woke up, my whole world changed, literally.

* * *

(CRAYAK) 

**SHE HAS A DESIRE TO SAVE HER MOTHER. THAT PUTRID WILDCARD. WELL, I WILL GIVE THE WILDCARD ITS DESIRE. NO MORE ANIMORPHS. LETS SEE IF SHE AND HER FRIENDS CAN WIN THIS GAME.**

* * *

**  
**

(Rae)

A horn woke me up that next morning.

BREAKFAST WILL BE IN 10 MINUTES. GRUEL AND ORANGE TANG. FOR THE LADIES, SHOWER AND DRESS!

What the-? I seemed to be in some sort of institution! A pretty run-down one at that. There were rows and rows of beds filled with girls just waking up. The whole place was an industrial gray with boards over the windows. It looked like I had woken up in hell.

"Welcome to my world kid."

I heard a voice. IN MY BRAIN. That could only be one thing. YEERK! I was infested!

"Oh don't worry kid, I could care less about controlling you. Myitt only looks out for Myitt. And the sensors when I have to take full control."

"You, you, they have NAMES?" I asked in my brain.

"Yeah, we do, just like yours Teresa Rachelle.

"That's not my name. My name is Rachel."

"I've infested you for 10 years. I think I'd know what your name is, and if you don't make a move for the shower they're going to think we're up to something. Now hustle!"  
I dragged myself over to the decrepit showers down the hall and dirty brown water started to come out of the faucets. But when I started to disrobe I got an... ahem...bigger surprise.

"Holy cow," I whispered. I had grown a couple of bra sizes overnight. In fact, looking into the dingy mirror, my whole body had changed. I was noticeably taller, my body had filled out, especially my butt, and my hair had grown in dreadlocks all the way to my waist. I had to be about 17 or 18 years old.

"Like yourself? That's great, but don't gawk all day or we'll miss chow."

I had been sent to a parallel universe. No books, no parents. This was real.

I tried my best to wash myself with the dirty soap and putrid water and wrapped a thin, disgusting towel around me. Myitt, or whatever that Yeerk called itself was right, most people had already gotten dressed. I saw one more pair of dingy sweats and a stained T-shirt and figured that was my clothing ration for the day. Some nasty old sneakers were at the bunk where I was sleeping, I guessed they were mine too. But then I paused.

They were the Jordans I had…I mean they looked like the Jordans Dad JUST bought me.

_When I get out of here…no more complaints about anything. _

"You're never getting out of here kid, at least not until you turn 18 and the force drafts you." Myitt so helpfully added.

"Stay out of my brain!" I yelled as I ran into the cafeteria. By accident, I bumped up against a tough-looking girl with a bandana around her head.

"Hey, watch where you're going, bitch!" she called out to me.  
"Who are you calling bitch!" I whipped my head around.  
She threw her food down and threw back her hands as if she was going to punch me.

I threw my hands up, ready to block or strike, and when I squinted my eyes...

The whole room froze.

I mean, not just the people around us, the whole room.

_Jeez, my powers must be expanded now that I'm older. _

Myitt started to scream in my brain "What did you do Teresa?"

"Teresa? Stop calling me that!"

"Rae!!!" one solitary short girl with short hair came running from the other side of the cafeteria.

"See alien, my name is Rae."

"No. Teresa."

"Could you please tell me what's going on?" I almost whined.

"Look, it's too late for that, we better get out of here…I saw a memo this morning, any use of supernatural powers will be severely punished." Tanya told us.

The room was still frozen.

I nodded at her.

"Good idea,"

Both Tanya and I SPED out of there. We went through a time-frozen corridor, and down some back steps where there were no security guards.

"I thought I was the only one sent here.," she said as we hid in a dumpster down a filthy street with trash and burnt out buildings everywhere. It was so grimy; you could taste the filth in your mouth. It was Post-Apocalyptic.

"Do you have a Yeerk too?"

"Yeah, and it won't shut the hell up,"

I laughed.

"At least we're in this together." I tried to look at the bright side.

"I know I'm sorry about your Mom…I guess in the other lifetime." Tanya's deeper voice was full or sorrow.

"Don't worry, we're going to save her, as long as we can get out of here." I figured.

Just then, I heard sirens.

"Shh, quiet!" she said to me.

We heard a car door open then slam shut. Footsteps crept their way to us, then I could hear a baton rap on the top of the dumpster.

"Come out and you won't get hurt," a familiar, yet deep voice said.

_DERRICK?_

We put our hands up and a VERY different-looking Derrick in a guard's uniform held a baton in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

"Derrick!!!!" He looked so grown up. His hair was buzzed off and his face and body was filled in. In short, he looked like a grown man. In fact, we all looked grown.

"Look, you guys gotta get out of here, they think you're part of some sort of Yeerk Rebellion so they want to take you into the force early."

We kinda just stared at him.

"Joining the One's Army"

"That would suck, royally." Tanya admitted.

"I'm supposed to be a lookout, apparently, but when I saw you two, I knew it was more than coincidence that brought us here. We're here for a reason. To learn a lesson," Derrick concluded.

"Let's get going then. No reason to hang around if we don't need to," I said.

We piled into Derrick's beater and started far, far away from that terrible place.

"Okay, now, it's you me and Derrick. Becky and Jon have to be around someplace-"

"They're at the resistance. Our powers, they've seem to been getting stronger. I can picture people and locate them now. You should be able to do the same thing, Tanya." Derrick said as he put his baton back.

She nodded her head.

"I'm going, or my Yeerk is, going to drive us there. It's about 400 miles away in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Don't worry, they gave me a full tank."

During the drive, we switched drivers, made some small talk, tried not to be so nervous. But we had no idea what the hell we were or what we were getting involved into. We didn't even know what year it was! I was scared. Very scared. During my brief time at the orphanage, I didn't see Melissa or Tommy. I mean, it was an Orphanage…. did that mean…NO! My family would never just give me up like that.

…Would they?

Tanya had taken the wheel, and Derrick was asleep in the back. I was feeling a little drowsy myself, and no one would question a government vehicle on the road. I don't know how it happened, but I fell asleep on Derrick's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind.

* * *

I heard someone giggling as I woke up. Tanya turned around and was just watching us. 

"Aww, aren't the lovebirds cute,"

Derrick shot up and got his bearings.

"Huh? Rae! My bad. I wouldn't disrespect you like that!"

"It's ok," I was trying my fastest to get away from him. Not that I wanted him to think I was easy or anything.

"Well, now that you two are done, I used my psychic sensing powers to know we're going to have to park the car and walk 3 miles up the road and hope that our Yeerks can pretend to be rebel Yeerks long enough for us to gain access to the compound and recruit Jon and Becky."

"Then what? After we learn a 'value of teamwork' lesson we get to go home?" I hoped.

"Let's hope so." Derrick gave me a wan smile, taking my hand for a second. I couldn't help but blush.

The walk to the compound was dusty, hot, and tiring. We were in the middle of the desert, for Pete's sake. Derrick decided he should lose part of his uniform and took off his uniform top, leaving only a T-shirt underneath showing off his bulging muscles. He looked extra hot. Finally, after 3 mirages, we got to the compound and let the Yeerks in our brains take over.

They tricked the Gleet Bio-Filters enough for us to get inside, but we weren't prepared for what happened when we got there.

A security guard took us to a holding area, where we saw a familiar dark haired boy with old glasses manning a Yeerk pool.

Jon!

Derrick broke protocol and tackled him he was so happy to see Jon.

"Whoa, Whoa, don't kill us now," Jon joked.

"Oh, it's good to see you man, you don't know what we had to do to get here."

"I can, I saw what was happening from my head. Our powers-"

"Are expanded now that we're older and in this parallel universe. We know" Tanya gave Jon a playful nudge.

"So how do we get Becky?"

Jon started to kick at an invisible stain.

"She's helping to protect the …the last one. "

"The last who? Jon, we didn't come 400 miles for games."

He gave me his hand.

"Rae, in this reality, I learned that...your Dad never came back from space. The remaining Animorphs died on the Blade ship. That's why the One was able to take over the Earth and enslave us all with Yeerks, I know we all have Yeerks in our heads right now…"

It all made sense, the horrible world, the signs the Ellimist had sent me.

"We were meant to be here guys. I don't know why, but this is more than a lesson, we have to fix something in our world. Remember all the talk about anomalies? Well, my mom is one; she can only exist in one correct timeline. If we don't get back and save her in ours, we'll be stuck in this one forever!" I realized

We were interrupted by a large crash.

I whipped around.

I couldn't believe it.

It was Becky

And a wolf.

My mother?!?


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Same Disclaimer Applies

(Cassie)

My children, that's all I think about most days. Tommy, Melissa, and especially Rachel. She has grown up a lot in these past few months. All I want to see is their smiling faces. I know this is Rachel's story, but I need to add in some of what happened, what she doesn't know about.

It was all supposed to be so simple.

Just one space mission, overseeing the experts in Xenowarfare as they were to lead the charge onto the Blade Ship.

Jake couldn't go, but Marco and I were to be present in an advisory capacity. One ship. One more time. One last fight.

But with our lives, there is never a last time.

Jake and I decided to start the day off by calling the children and his parents, to see how they were all getting along. Hopefully Rae wouldn't be a pain as much as she had been to us over the past few months. I know changes are hard on children, but honestly, she had even me on the brink of sanity sometimes-

"So today's the big day, huh?" I heard from the bunk below me, interrupting my thoughts.

Jake was already sitting up on the bed and smiling.

I hopped down and into his arms.

"A grand hello to you too, honey." We kissed each other. For once, we didn't have to worry about anyone barging in on us. The military gave us a room with total privacy.

The plan was simple. We were to send in Xenowarriors, then regular space fighters. We weren't sure what group was behind the new attacks, but we were pretty sure they were Yeerks. We were confident that we could take them out in open battle.

Jake wanted to be there, leading the forces. During all of our meetings, I could see it in his face. But a space battle is no place for someone in a wheelchair, even if they could morph. Jake would be leading us from Earth. All I had to do was think of the Auxiliaries and…

"Did I say something wrong?" Jake offered.

"No babe. Nothing at all. Just thinking?"

"What about?" he inquired.

"Oh, you know, all of this again, the kids, how it's affecting them." Jake started to rub my shoulders.

"Well, I have a good idea. Why don't we give them a call. We're way overdue. Even prisoners get to make one call."

I smiled and kissed his head. Jake always came with a good plan. He wasn't the leader of this new attack for nothing.

We showered, got dressed in the black suits that were now standard issue to morphers and went over to the videophone. We dialed the number for Jean and Steve and slowly, the phone started to connect.

Surprisingly, neither Jean or Steve picked up.

Rae, in a very cute white tennis outfit, turned on the video camera.

"Hello Rae," Jake said. I don't think he was seeking to start in on anything today.

"Hi Dad," she said back, calmly. GOOD.

"How's everything going, tennis champ?" He smiled upon seeing her outfit. Probably he was thinking about how Jean and Steve were tennis nuts.

"Tennis Champ? Did you know about this beforehand?" I could sense Rae's stress.

But Jake Just kept on smiling. I should have hit him.

"Dad!" Rae yelled

I decided to interrupt before a shouting match ensued.

"Hey baby. Ignore him. You look wonderful." I tried to impart some reason as I took Jake's hand.

"Wow, I didn't expect to hear from you guys so soon, I was pretty sure that the government would hide you guys forever." Rae was shocked. Her dark brown eyes lit up.

"Oh don't worry, they're doing that," I assured her. "But we just needed to check in and see how our babies were doing."

"Mom, I'm not a baby. I'm almost thirteen! A teenager!" She started to complain. I

forget about the emotional minefield I step in with Rae sometimes.

"Rae…" Jake started to raise his voice.

"Well, anyway, where's the rest of the gang?" I asked.

"Oh, Grandma and Grandpa are upstairs giving Tommy and Melissa baths." she answered.

"Well, we'll give you guys a call another time. Just remember that we love you." Jake said.

"I love you guys too…be safe…. what ever you're doing." I told them.

We ended the transmission.

"How did she become such a piece of work so fast?" Jake chuckled and ran his hands through his hair.

"I know someone else who is pretty emotional," I smirked. He knew exactly whom I was talking about.

"That's not fair!" He wrapped me up in the wheelchair. He sighed and held me for a minute.

"You know I don't want to do this again, Cass" Jake's voice paled with a hint of doubt.

"I know baby, I know." I turned to face him. "Just one more time, and we're done." I

breathed in his comforting scent. Musky and strong, just like him.

Jake put his hand on my stomach. "Yes, we've got bigger things to worry about,"

"Um, Sir, Ma'am?" A soldier meekly interrupted us.

"Yes private?" Jake straightened himself up.

"It's breakfast time."

After breakfast, Jake and a few generals went over the plans with us one more time.

Marco and I would accompany some of the best-trained Xenowarriors over to the Blade Ship, where we would go on an exploratory mission dressed as an allied ship. As soon as we did reconnaissance, the heavy troops would arrive and fight whatever Yeerks that would be on board. That would be our cue to get off the ship and back down to Earth. Jake wanted to minimize the length of time we were in space, for obvious reasons. Truth was, I wasn't so sure about this. Even though we had been going over every aspect of this battle plan in meticulous detail, I had this horrible feeling in my gut that something wasn't right, that we would get a big surprise, and not in a good way.

_Relax Cassie, it could just be that you're-_

"Cassie, we're ready to go." Those four, Nathan, Michael, Shawn, and Wayne, are this planet's best Xenowarriors. They'll be in the ship that will escort Marco and you to the Blade Ship. Four Caucasian men of average build and height nodded across the room at us.

Marco stood up.

"Then there's no reason to delay, let's do what needs to be done and then get the hell out of here, no offense,"

"None taken, Marco. I'll be watching from the control room," Jake replied.

Marco and I followed the four Xenowarriors down a hallway and to a waiting bug fighter.

Marco smiled over at me.

"No worries, Cassie. Everything is going to be fine, and you'll be home with those rug rats in no time."

"Let's hope so Marco, our outer space track record isn't that great."

We entered the tiny fighter and sat in one of the launching seats

"Cleared for takeoff," one of the Xenowarriors said.

I felt the familiar sickening feeling of Zero-G, and then we were propelled out of Earth atmosphere into outer space. .

"Ugh, I can never get over that," Marco's face was literally green.

"Try having 3 kids." I countered. He smiled.

"Nathan, does this fighter have facilities?" Marco belted out "I have to empty the hatch."

No answer.

"Nathan, Shawn….Michael…Wayne?"

No answer.

Even though there was no sign to take off our seatbelts, I got up and went to go investigate.

"Hold it right there."

I turned around. Nathan was holding a Dracon Beam towards my head.

"Don't even move, or I'll blow your freaking brains out!"

I held up my hands and paused right where I was. I looked over at Marco, He had one aimed directly at his head by one of the others.

"Let's see what your little husband has to say about his dear wife and best friend becoming slaves to the Yeerks.

Nathan dragged me over to the videophone and turned it on.

"Surprise, surprise. You all should have seen this coming," he said to a group of shocked generals and Jake.

"Corporal Nathan, let her go."

"Nathan? My name is Yisplan 3245. And this is a kidnapping. Free the human controllers on Earth from their camps and pay restitution to the Yeerk home world on the order of 1 billion American dollars for the Yeerk Rebel Movement or your precious wife and best friend are dead. He cut the transmission.

"On the floor!" He pushed me down. One of the others started to bound and gag me.

Then I could hear us connecting to another ship. The Blade Ship.

Marco was hustled past me in an equally bound state.

They dragged us out into the blade ship and down a long, long, highway.

I was getting scared, I didn't know what the hell was going on. I couldn't believe we were getting kidnapped. And for what? I know the Yeerks hadn't had the best time adjusting on Earth but I thought things had been getting better.

_Maybe I'm just too naive. In the world of war, will anything ever change?_

Finally, we got dumped off in what looked like an empty room. They unbound us and then clicked on a big button that dropped a force field around us.

"Now remember, if you try anything, any morphs, any sneaking out, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. Oh yeah."

He turned off all lights.

"Goodnight!"

Marco tried to talk but I couldn't say anything. I was just in shock. How could I be so stupid to agree to something like this?

I curled up into a ball and cried.

My babies.

All I could think about were my babies.

* * *

(Crayak)

WHERE WERE EDRISS AND ESPLIN? I SUMMONED THEM 5 HUMAN MINUTES AGO! DARN YEERKS, THEY ARE SO SELF-ABSORBED SOMETIMES. NEVER SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE. BUT THEY BEAT HORRID TERRAN-CONTROLLERS ANY DAY. TOO MANY, WHAT YOU CALL, EMOTIONS, WITH THAT SPECIES.

SPEAKING OF TERRANS, MY EYE LIT UP WITH GLEE AS THE WILDCARD AND HER MOTLEY CREW OF ASSOCIATES WAS THROWN INTO THE DIMENSION I PERSONALLY CREATED FOR THEM. THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT ESCAPE WAS IMPOSSIBLE. THEN, THIS DIVERSION WITH THE ANOMALY AND THE ONE CALLED 'MARCO' WOULD BE UNECESSARY.

EVEN SO, I HAD TO KEEP UP APPEARANCES.

EDRISS WAS THE FIRST TO ARRIVE.

HOW DID IT GO, EDRISS?

"We got them sir,"

BOTH OF THEM?

"Sorry I'm late sir, D.C. and interstellar traffic is a bitch." Esplin the Prime ran into the meeting

Edriss rolled her eyes and continued with the debriefing.

"Yes. Our informants captured them on a bug fighter and they're currently being held prisoner in the East bay. No stimulation. If they try to morph, the sensors will kill them.

AH YES. THE ANOMALY AND THE OFFSPRING OF ONE OF YOUR FORMER HOSTS. DON'T KILL THEM YET. I WANT TO SEE 'PRINCE JAKE' FALTER AND TAKE HIS OWN LIFE FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE HIS COMRADES.

HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO INFEST THOSE HUMANS IN CONTROL OF THE SHIP?

"Disgruntled Yeerks. Easy as pie to find now that the Humans have them under restriction. From there we got four disgruntled Xenowarriors to become voluntarily infested. Simple really. Those Terrans, so predictable."

EXCELLENT WORK, EDRISS AND ESPLIN. AFTER THIS IS DONE, WE WILL TALK ABOUT MY GREATER PLANS FOR THE PLANET CALLED EARTH. DISMISSED! He disappeared into the void, leaving them at Edriss' apartment.

"Did you hear that! He called our work excellent!" Esplin was excited.

"Ugh. Do you get THIS excited every time Crayak complements you? You're such a loser, you know." Edriss rolled her eyes.

"But this time, Edriss, we really got them! Organizing a Yeerk Rebel Movement was a stroke of genius!"

"Yeah, Yeah." Edriss was not impressed with Esplin's hubris.

"And when that Jake watches Cassie and Marco die, it will be vengeance, for the hundreds of thousands of Yeerks he murdered. Then I have special plans for him. Making his immovability on this planet seem like nothing." Esplin kept on ranting.

"You know, it was always me that came up with the good ideas," Edriss said slyly.

"Ha, I got closer than any Yeerk to taking over this woebegone planet." Esplin pointed out.

"Yeah, prove it." Edriss nearly spat out. She had no time for this incompetence tonight.

"Why you rotten little dapsen." Esplin was starting to get annoyed with Edriss. Here, they accomplished something together, and she blew it off like nothing.

He went off. "I should have Crayak send you back to the home world right now, since only proven leaders should be in charge!" Esplin lunged for Edriss grabbing her by the wrist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"Edriss yelled at him.

"You bitch!" Esplin squeezed her wrist harder.

"So are you going to fight me now? Oh, that's so grown up" Edriss mocked him.

Esplin was so enraged, he didn't know what to do, whether to chuck her out the window or slice her with one of her kitchen knives.

But his human body had a completely different reaction…

He leaned over to kiss Edriss, right on the mouth.

Her first thought was one of repulsiveness, but then her human body quite liked the sensations she was getting from Esplin.

They pulled each other into the bedroom and shut the door….and the throes of passion were heard all night.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Same Disclaimer Applies.

(Rae)

Mom wasn't happy.

I could tell.

Mostly it had to do with the fact that she was snarling and chasing us around the Yeerk Pool room.

Being in the room itself was quite eerie. A small Kandrona stood at the top of the pool. It was industrial, with gray steel all about. Just like everywhere else in this compound. But I wasn't focusing on the scenery so much as I was focusing on Becky trying to keep a hold on my Mom.

Becky looked different. Her hair was pulled back into a French Braid and she had a lab coat on, just like Jon. But she couldn't hold on to Mom's leash.

If only we could get Mom to see we WEREN'T the enemy.

Derrick was trying to tame her. "Down girl, easy, easy," Mom was going after him the most.

"Hit her with your baton, Derrick!" Tanya screamed.

"I am not hitting Rae's mom!" he yelled back.

"Listen, MOM, we're the good guys." I tried to explain.

She stopped her growling long enough and swerved her head to stare at me.

"Yes, I'm your daughter. The daughter you had with Jake Berenson,"

Now she REALLY stopped. I could see her pause. Then she began the process of demorphing. Human limbs and arms came out of her body.

Quickly, she finished demorphing and walked over to me. She examined me, looking up at my face and touching my cheek with her hands.

"Those eyes…it IS you…Teresa"

The others left the room to give us some space.

"My name is Rachel," I told her softly.

"Of course, your middle name." she kept on stroking my cheek.

"I don't think you understand." I tried to explain

"Sit down, sit down," She led me to some metal chairs at the side of the Yeerk pool.

"Why did you give me away? Well, here, anyway?" I asked her. I stared out into the Yeerk pool. I could see many of those horrid creatures swimming around, feeding, and taking in the rays of the Kandrona.

"Hey, one more low blow about Yeerks and I'll have you beat yourself up!" I heard Myitt yell in my brain. I ignored her. Right now, she wasn't my focus.

Mom was.

She started to explain everything to me, with tears running down her cheek.

"When your father never came back, the world became more and more unstable. By the time you were born, I realized all of them were dead. It was so dangerous that peace loving aliens and humans had to band together to fight off the One, our main enemy. It still wasn't enough. The One had managed to find enough rebel Yeerks to take over Earth. They were already enslaving people when you were born. I had to go on the run, and I knew that a baby…both of our lives would be in so much danger. That's why I left you at the orphanage. I knew they could take care of you and give you a life free of fear. I guess that didn't happen, huh."

I was taken aback by her story of this world. No Dad…meant that the world went haywire?

That was too much. In fact, that was crazy. Crazy beyond my wildest dreams.

But the fact that I was here, now, told me otherwise.

I decided it was the right time to tell my Mom, THIS Mom at least.  
"I have something to admit. I…I…don't belong here. Life is not supposed to be this way."

"What do you mean? In this lifetime, this is the way things have always been,"

"That's the thing, I just got here today. I'm not of this world. Neither are my friends. I just went to sleep one night and woke up here."

She stopped and paused.

"Ellimist. That's the only way all of this…all of you…you could have found me. But it sounds like you come from a better world than me. He has the power to manipulate time. He must have sent you here for a reason."

Just then, alarms went off.

We were invaded!

"There are some Dracon beams in the corner closet, grab about five of them for your friends, this is the most fortified room." She ordered.

Everyone came running back in.

"How do we use one of these?" Jon was freaking out as I handed one to him.

"Point and shoot, like a gun."

Everyone grabbed one and hid.

"Now when they come in, you have to be fast, these guys have elite military training." Mom warned.

I could hear foot steps down the hall. Mom quietly turned herself into a Hork-Bajir.

(It can take the most damage), she assured me.

I heard streams, then silence. People were getting killed! And I was getting freaked out.

BOOM! I heard the door get kicked in.

Ten fierce looking fighters in black appeared.

"So Derrick, you thought you could defect with your little friends here? You'll pay with your life!" One of them shouted.

A Dracon was aimed straight at his face. Mom sprang into action and sliced his head off with her arms.

"Come on guys, shoot!"

We picked up our weapons and tried to aim at the other soldiers.

It was hell. The soldiers had better training than us. We always barely got hit.

Suddenly, I saw a flash of light and I flew through the air, my head hitting the wall.

* * *

When I came to, I saw nothing but slaughter.

Someone must have thrown a grenade…. because everyone…. everyone….

was covered in blood.

And they weren't moving.

I tried to help. I felt myself. Other then some cuts and bruises, I was okay. I couldn't say the same for everyone else.

"Guys, guys, wake up!" I went over to my friends and shook them.

No response.

In Girl Scout camp they taught me how to check for a pulse.

No one had one.

NO! NONONONONONONONONONONONONO!

"Guys, guys, what have I done? I dragged you into this mess, into my life, and you had to pay with yours." I started to cry hot burning tears.

I heard a slight cough and I swiveled my head. Covered in blood, I went over to the coughing person.

It was Mom!

I ran over to see her….

But her half Hork-Bajir/ half-human morph was impaled on some pipes near a wall

"MOMMMMMMMM!" I yelled as I ran over.

She coughed again, blood this time.

I could tell she was dying.

"Teresa..." she reached out a hand to me.

"Mom, please, you can't die. Try to morph out of it. Please! For me! For us!" I grabbed her hand in both of mine.

"I don't have the…strength baby. But you…" she coughed again. "Go back and change your world, or this, this will ha-ppen"

Then her face fell over and she stopped breathing.

My Mother had died.

I sat there and bawled, her blood mixed with tears as I cried for a long time.

Then I got pissed.

"How dare you! How dare you stick me here so I can watch all of my friends and my MOTHER die? Do you have a sick sense of humor? It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

I closed and opened my eyes a number of times. Time started and stopped. Started and stopped.

But it didn't matter. I didn't have a reason to live anymore.

YES YOU DO.

I heard a beautiful voice in my head. Male and female, boy and girl.

And then I was transferred to a different world.

* * *

This place was all white. There was no ground, and no air, everything was just white. But I felt like I was floating. Maybe I was in heaven. Or what heaven was supposed to feel like. Maybe I was dead-NO. I'd know if I were dead. I just looked at the infinite expanse of white and waited for someone, something, to give me an answer to what was going on.

Finally, someone, or something, spoke.

AH, THE WILDCARD. I'VE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME TO FINALLY BRING YOU TO ME. The voice said. It was just that. A voice. I couldn't see a body like the Ellimist.

_It must be a higher power._

"Me?"

YES, YOU. DO YOU KNOW HOW SPECIAL YOU ARE? ONE OF YOU OCCURS ONCE IN A MILLION YEARS. THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE YOUR GIFTS. I HOPE YOU REALIZED WHAT YOUR FATE COULD HAVE BEEN IN THAT LAST SCENARIO.

"Scenario?" I was confused.

LIFE HAS MANY PATHWAYS RACHEL, MANY OPTIONS. THAT WAS JUST THE ONE I FELT WOULD BE MOST SHOCKING TO YOU.

"Yeah, killing all of my friends and my mother, that's a great way to teach me a lesson. I mean, who the hell do you think you are? You can't just play with people's lives like this!"

THIS IS NOT A JOKE RACHEL, THIS IS DEADLY SERIOUS. YOU WERE TAKEN TO THE ALTERNATE TIMELINE TO LEARN A LESSON: THAT PLANET EARTH CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.

"Is she dead?" My mind was full of fear.

IN THAT UNIVERSE, YES, BUT SHE IS SUB-TEMPORALLY GROUNDED. SO SHE WILL BE ALIVE IN THE CORRECT TIMELINE.

"How will I know what is the correct timeline? Will I be sent to a random one again?"

NO, YOU WILL BE SENT TO YOUR CORRECT TIME. BUT YOU WILL HAVE A MISSION. ONE THAT WILL BE QUITE CLEAR TO YOU WHEN YOU GET BACK. YOU WILL MEET THE 6TH ONE, AND IT WILL WORK ITSELF OUT FROM THERE.

"Just one more question. Who are you? God? The Ellimist?"

NO, BUT I DO TIRE OF CRAYAK AND ELLIMIST'S LITTLE GAMES. JUST CALL ME 'THE ARCHITECT'.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night, back in my bed in Dad's room. For a second, I thought I was dreaming. Everything was back to normal. No more institutional orphanage.

_It's never a dream, never when it comes to your parents. _

I went over to the other side of the room and felt for Melissa. She was asleep on the other bed!

Yes! I kissed her head.

I ran down the hall to see about Tommy. He was fast asleep in the other bedroom.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

_I need to call Tanya, Derrick, or someone. To see if they remember this at all. _

Then I realized that it was really late. So I decided to beg Grandma to call them tomorrow.

So I sat on my bed and just took in everything 'The Architect' had said. I was a wildcard, so my powers were the strongest out of the group, I surmised.

But how was I going to use them to save the world? Precognition and stopping time, they weren't exactly offensive powers. And Mom in this world was still kidnapped.

Just being with her in the other world showed me how special she was to me. We had this…connection with each other. I couldn't afford to lose her again.

Then I snapped my fingers, I knew what to do.

We needed to go to D.C. and get Mom ourselves.

So EARLY that morning I snuck out of the house and met my friends at Starbucks near the mall since it was Saturday. Apparently none of them had any recollection of what happened in the alternate dimension. None at all.

"So you're saying I cut my hair?" Derrick half-joked.

"Yes," but you looked good bald. I flirted back with him. "But seriously guys, someone has taken my Mom and Uncle Marco hostage. I'm thinking we should do something drastic."

"I don't know, maybe we should let the Army or something handle it." Becky started to swizzle the straw in her coffee cup.

"I don't think we can. No one on Earth that we know of has our unique powers. Besides, we can get into the kidnappers minds, knowing what they do before they do."

"But Rae, we have no weapons, no training, how do you expect us to do this?" Jon pointed out.

"We'll be advisors. We'll tell the soldiers or Xenowarriors what to do so they can save my Mom and Uncle Marco.

"And how do we get to D.C.? We're in Southern California for heaven's sake. " Tanya looked at me with a hint of doubt as she bit into a piece of pound cake.

'Well, my Dad is still in D.C. I could ask him." I always had that option.

"Yeah right, you're still grounded Rae. No way he'll let you come out there." Derrick said.

"So then we do what we always do, we find another way." I shrugged and stole some of Tanya's pound cake.

"And what were you thinking?" Becky looked a little skeptical.

"Let's go down to the Animorph museum and make some alien friends." I smiled and started drinking my latte again.

Derrick smiled. "That's a perfect idea. Any alien will give a ride to the daughter of the Animorphs. So it's settled then, let's leave on Friday and get to Rae's Dad. That will give us enough time to plan. Then we can see if the government takes us seriously enough to let us help get Rae's mom back."

We all nodded and finished our lattes. Everyone else wasn't grounded, so I didn't want to get caught sneaking around.

As we said our goodbyes, Derrick stopped me.

"Wow, I can't believe I was a cop."

"With a big baton." I added for effect. "Look, Derrick, if you and the others don't want to do this, I understand."

"No Rae, we're almost like a big family ourselves. Whatever you need, we'll be there for you."

"That means a lot to me Derrick."

He gave me an awkward hug. I felt so safe in his embrace, and then I pulled away.

"I guess I should go," He motioned towards the door.

"Yeah, me too. My grandparents will kill me if they find I'm not there." I admitted.

"Bye Derrick,"

"Bye" he waved.

"And remember, we're going to save the world!" I called after him.

All he could do was laugh as he walked out of door.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Same Disclaimer Applies

(Rae)

As I rode my bike back to Grandma and Grandpa's development, I checked my head for what seemed like the thousandth time today.

No Myitt!

Yay! I have my brain to myself!

The last few Minutes? Hours? were so strange. Who was the architect? And why was he tired of the Crayak and Ellimist? Who was the Crayak anyway? After meeting with 'it', I had more questions than answers.

I finally rode into the development and into the garage. Putting the kickstand down, I quickly tried to sneak into the backyard and pretend to help Grandma take down the remaining laundry on the line.

"Oh Rachel! There you are! We almost thought you had run off again!" Grandma yelled through the back window. "Finish up there and get some breakfast, honey."

I smiled to myself.

_If only you knew…_

Based on all of the security guards I had to sneak past this morning, I knew Dad was never going to let me come out to D.C. voluntarily. The second best option was to find someone, or something, to take us there. The subject of Aliens had been touchy ones the past few weeks, with the Alien internment camps for the Yeerks and Hork-Bajir. The Andalite were still allowed to walk free among us Earthlings, and many people, including Becky, didn't think that was fair. Just because the Andalites were our most 'trusted' allies, didn't mean they should be treated any differently than any other Alien species. Trust one, or none at all, was Becky's motto.

I felt differently. I had an uncle who was an Andalite. They were a good species, from what I knew. Sure, some of them were averse to helping humans, but on the whole, they would have our backs no matter what.

Speaking of Aliens and all that jazz, over breakfast, Grandma and Grandpa finally agreed to break my grounding long enough for me to go to the Animorph Museum over the old construction site where they met Prince Elfangor. Fitting enough, I supposed. This was also where the memorial of my cousin Rachel was moved. After a while, Dad & Jordan didn't want it in the cemetery.

Driving up to the museum, I felt pinpricks on my skin. Like I was violating some sort of sacred trust by executing this plan.

As we got closer to the site, and housing developments turned into strip malls, I could begin to see the statue erected in cousin Rachel's honor. Because I suppose my parents respected her so much, they never drove this way when they needed to go somewhere.

I could see some tourists (alien and human) come over to the car as we pulled up to the parking lot. An attendant rushed over to open the door and escort us past the throng of tourists and hangers on who wanted pictures and autographs from us.

_Ah, back to reality, it's not perfect, but it's not hell. _

I don't know what it was about that other reality, but it disturbed me.

How could just the subtraction of Mom and Dad, of all people, ruin the world and turn it into an apocalyptic mess? How could the world be run like that?

And how could Mom just give me up like that and not try to stick it out and protect me more?

All of these questions I pondered in my head as I went through the entrance.

The entrance was very nice and peaceful. At Mom's request they renovated the museum from the last time I had been there. There was a waterfall in the middle of the museum, which was set up hexagon-ically. One wing for each Animorph. All around there were pictures and caption boxes of morphs, and their own portraits. Dad included a section on favorite battle morphs. In the middle detailed the story of the Animorphs and how they came to be, and ended.

I decided to start my search with the Animorph who would attract the most attention. My cousin Rachel. There were quite a few Andalites standing about, waving their stalk eyes around the room. One stopped and turned his front eyes onto me.

(Aren't you the daughter of the humans Jacob and Cassie Berenson?)

"Um, yes,"

They all rushed me.

(Oh, you must take me to your home to sample that famous Five-Alarm Chili and Jalapeno Cornbread!) One said.

(No, pick me! I must meet the great Jake Berenson!) Another yelled in thought-speech.

I felt SOOOO embarrassed.

Before they could all surround me, I felt drawn to one in particular. He was in the corner, checking out a picture of my cousin doing gymnastics. I literally ran over to talk to him.

(How was it that this human lady was able to contort her body into such positions? They look painful for your species.)

"Um, gymnasts usually have years of experience. Earth-years."

(Ah. I see.)

He focused all four of his eyes on me. Familiarity sparked in his eyes.

(You're, you're the child of Jacob and Cassandra, aren't you? Rachel! I am honored to be in your presence. My name is Kelmiter-Pafriss-Extaran. Please excuse me for being rude, but I have seen you before. Your family. And others. In my dreams. And nightmares)

"Oh boy," I breathed in. _This is interesting. Hope he's not a nut-job_

_But wait, dreams and nightmares?_

(Because your parents are regarded as heroes on our planet. They overthrew our dreaded enemies. I would do anything for them, or any of their offspring).

"Really?" Maybe this was the reason I was drawn to him. "Well, do you have access to a spaceship?"

(Yes)

"Well, let's walk and talk,"

I went out to the waterfall and he kneeled down on all fours. I explained to him about us our dreams, our abilities as precognitics, and how the architect told me there was to be one more to round out our group.

(And you think that I am the final member of your group? Well I would honored, but I am only an Artish, a lowly cadet among our forces-)

"Pardon me, but do we look any older? In fact, we're no older than my parents when they started fighting their war. I think we get these special powers for a reason." I pointed out to him.

Then I leaned in, "I don't know what 'it' is, but we have 'it'. And we need to use our powers to help my Mom and Uncle Marco, or they're going to die."

He blinked his alien eyes, all of them, a few times.

He finally gave an Andalite smile with his eyes. (Where do I start?)

* * *

(Edriss) 

I was wrapped up in the sheets of my host's bed in her host's apartment.

_How stupid could I be? He didn't even stay over the night? Oh well, I must work with his miserable, horrific, personality on the rest of the mission. I cannot let this dalliance compromise it in any way. _

I grabbed my clothes from off the floor and tried to get dressed again. But everything was wrinkled or torn.

_Damn Esplin! So clumsy!_

I finally discovered a black pantsuit the host had hanging in the closet and put it on. The host's stomach stuck out a little bit, but I covered it with a white shirt. Finally, I went to the bathroom and escaped my host, swimming in the beautiful rays of the Kandrona. My host was catatonic. She wasn't going anywhere.

After I finished soaking in rays, I re-entered her and stood her up and looked at my watch. The cloaked bug fighter that was to take me to the Blade Ship was to meet me in twenty minutes. Today was the day that the ones they call Cassie and Marco were to die. And Jake Berenson could do nothing to stop it.

* * *

(Esplin) 

I saw her come madly at me. We were meeting secretly in the bug fighter that would take us to outer space.

"ESPLIN!" her host yelled.

"Edriss, please, this is not the time-"

"Do you know how rude you were last night?"

"Well, I rather had a good time-"

She had her host backhand me, HARD, across the face.

"Ow!"

"You better be glad that all you're saying is 'Ow' after last night."

"Why, I thought you were quite enjoying it,"

"As much as you'll enjoy Kandrona STARVATION!"

"Whoa, whoa, what happened?" An assistant came over to Edriss's side.  
"Nothing you have to concern yourself with. I'll deal with HIM later. Where's our progress on the ones they call Cassie and Marco?"

The ship's doors slammed shut and vibrated, I could feel the cloaking mechanisms coming on.

"Well, we have them under aural and ocular deprivation, but they aren't revealing anything about the human's plan." the same assistant said.

"Well, then, kick it up to full torture. I don't want to spare them for a minute." I barked in my human voice.

"Esplin, don't you think that may be a bit counterproductive? They may tell us the wrong information, and then we're back where we started." Edriss tried to say in her annoying way.

"Shut up Edriss,"

"She does have a point sir. Wouldn't it be better to go after Jake Berenson himself, now that the two people in the world closest to him are kidnapped? It's what Crayak always wanted." The assistant said.

"Too much security. They're watching that family like a Taxxon watching for a meal. Direct torture of Cassie and Marco is the only way to break Jacob down enough to admit defeat. He'll never give up anyone for the world again."

Edriss sighed heavily; I could see she was against my plan. But then again, there was a reason I, and I alone, became Visser One. She stood up, hands gripping the side of the table.

"When we get out of the stratosphere, give the call in for beatings. For both. We'll start there.

* * *

(Rae) 

"Are you sure we ought to do this? We could get in trouble. Ouble." Kel and I were walking away from the museum. Very quickly.

Over to his parents' spaceship.

I had convinced Kel, the alien, to do a Frolis Maneuver and acquire some DNA from random tourists to morph into a teenage human. I managed to sweet-talk the gift-shop owners into getting him an 'official morphing suit' so he didn't expose himself. Thankfully, it fit.

"It's the only way to get my them back from space alive. If the rebels have them up there, they won't be alive for long. And life without them..."

_Would be hell._

I went into my bad and picked up my cell phone. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa let me have that back too. And everyone was in my favorites network. Except Becky, I still had to struggle to remember her number.

It took no time at all to call everyone to get down to the museum.

Waiting for them was another story. I swore they were slow as molasses.

My patience was running thin. Hey, if they were freaked out about the time traveling or the trip we had to take, FINE. Just let me know in advance so that they could be honest about their feelings towards all of this.

SCRAPE SCRAPE.

I perked up. I could hear a skateboard making its way up the street. Jon! My eyes lit up.

Jon and Derrick were making their way up the street slapping their hands and having a conversation.

_2 out of 4…_

"...No for real, Aquaman would whoop up on Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. Come on Jon, he can take it to the ocean."

My heart warmed. It was great to hear that they could still have normal conversations about, you know, guy stuff, and not about all this alien mess. I worry about them…especially Derrick. I could see the stress on his face sometimes.

_Stress about us? _

"Oh, Rae, there you are." Jon sped up and did a flip to land next to me on his skateboard. Derrick ran to catch up.

"What's up? Are we ready?"

"I think we are. Guys, this is Kel, an Andalite visiting here. He's been having dreams, same as us." By this point, Kel had reverted back to his Andalite body.

Jon almost fell off his skateboard. "An Alien? Makes perfect sense! Now we can get to space, since he's an Andalite and he obviously needed a ship to get here!"

"Wait, wait, not so fast we have to wait for Tanya and Becky."

Just then, a bus pulled up at the corner and dropped a bunch of people off. Tanya and Becky were in the crowd.

"There, there they are."

Both of them sauntered up to me casually, not yelling or fighting with each other.

I was impressed.

"Thanks for paying my bus fare, Tanya," I heard Becky whisper.

_Oooooh…_

I took everyone over to a more secluded spot in the parking lot.

"Well, everyone, this is Kel, he's an Andalite, and he can 'see' like we can. I think he's the missing member of our group and he can get us to D.C. with his parents' ship. If anyone has any questions, or any doubts, this is the time to back out. From here on out, this is not a game."

(Wait, so you are the leader?) Kel asked.

I didn't know. No one ever elected me to be leader, it was just that my powers were the strongest and…

"Yeah, Rae's our leader." Derrick blurted out.

Kel did something odd. He bowed down to me on all four of his legs.

(Then you shall be my Princess, Rae. I will always answer to you and follow you to service wherever it may take us).

Oh no, not THIS! I read all about how Uncle Ax could never stop calling Dad 'Prince'

I guess I was a 'Princess' now.


	23. Chapter 23

Ch 23

Same Disclaimer Applies

(Rae)

_Princess Rae._

I wasn't too sure about this title thing. Just because my parents were the Animorphs didn't make me a Princess. It didn't make me a leader.

It didn't even make me a hero.

Try as I might, my plan would never be as good as Mom and Dad's were.

But if I had any doubts, any whatsoever, I couldn't show it to the rest of the gang.

I took a deep breath, looked down at my pink baby tee and jeans, and spoke out to my friends.

"We should probably follow Kel into his spaceship. It's obviously the fastest way to get to D.C."

Everyone nodded and followed Kel who by then was in his Andalite form, to a fleet of parked spaceships. Big and Bulky, his was a visitor class, what they issue all Andalites at the Home World when they come to visit Earth. Definitely, not like the Dome ship.

And definitely not an Andalite fighter.

"Hey, it's not your Dad's old Bug Fighter, but it'll do." Jon quipped.

I had heard many beginnings of stories about the Bug Fighter, followed mostly by 'You'll hear more when you're older!'

_Of course._

We were all inside and Kel shut the doors. He rushed to the cockpit and I felt the engines thrust on. Another vibration shook throughout the cabin.

(Princess Rae, do not be bothered, that is just the cloaking device to disguise us while we are in your planet's atmosphere.)

I gave a sigh of relief. I thought that the big ship was breaking apart!

There was a barely noticeable whirr, and then we were propelled into the air.

"So 'Princess', what do you feel about your new title?" Tanya said smugly.

"Not this," I rolled my eyes. I had a feeling this was going to be a running joke for the rest of the trip.

"Yeah, for real. We should be more concerned about how much trouble we're going to get into once we get back home. IF we get back home." Derrick pointed out.

It finally hit all of us that we really weren't playing a video game, we were in the cabin of a real, live alien spaceship going off to rescue my Mom and Uncle Marco.

Oh yeah, this was real.

I laid my head on the back wall and yelled out to Kel "How many Earth-minutes until we land in Washington D.C.?"

(Approximately sixteen, Princess Rae.)

"Hey Kel?"

(Yes, Princess Rae.)

"Don't call me Princess,"

(Yes, Princess Rae.)

_Darn. I knew that was going to happen. _

"So Rae, um, do you think if we, uh, are successful, that your Dad will let you come back to school?" Jon asked with much hesitation.

"Hopefully. It beats being home-schooled with your Pre-K siblings." I deadpanned.

"That would be awesome. I miss hanging out with you during lunch. Our sneaky late-night phone conversations just aren't the same thing." Tanya admitted.

"If we pull this off, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about ANYTHING from my Dad again." We all laughed.

Then we got serious. What if we didn't pull this off? There was a good chance we all could die. This was a suicide mission no matter which way you looked at it.

Jon and Derrick went back to their superhero talk while Becky went to one of the windows and admired the view. Tanya saw some of the doubt in my face.

"Don't worry Rae, you look like you have the world on your shoulders."

_I do, Tanya, I do._

"This isn't going to be like before, to use our powers in the strongest way, we ALL have to be united together."

I relaxed a bit. Tanya did make an excellent point. And with her Apple Bottom Jeans, Jacket, and shirt on, she looked so out of place, like she would rather be in the mall than a spaceship. Like a certain someone.

I swore that none of them would meet her fate.

Jon overheard our conversation. "Well since we're going to save the world, I guess we need a name, huh? I was thinking the Precognitics. It means that we have the ability to see events before they happen, and we can do that plus a whole lot more."

"Sounds good to me. Did everyone hear that?"

Everyone was distracted.

"Guys!" I yelled.

They all turned around.

"Much better. Jon came up with a name for us. We're officially the Precognitics. Does that sound good to all of you?"

Everyone nodded and came together to put their hands into the middle of a circle, except Kel, who still needed to pilot this thing.

"Precognitics it is. Yeerks, you'll never know what hit you!" I said as we lifted them away.

* * *

When we landed in D.C., it looked like a state of emergency. There were Soldiers and Marines running every which way. Gigantic tanks were rolling down the streets.

"Wow, this is NOT what I expected." Derrick exclaimed, "We better find your father, and FAST. Before they ask what we're doing here."

So we all got together in a circle and held hands again. In the middle of our circle in the spaceship, we all started to get a vision.

A man with a scruffy beard and in a wheelchair rolled himself into a very nice hotel room. His eyes were red and puffy. He sighed as he undid his cufflinks and threw a briefcase onto the bed. It seemed like he wanted to cry, but he had no more tears left in his body. He hesitated and sighed. Then he noticed the mini bar in the corner of the room. He hesitated again, but seemed to have lost his nerve, went over and opened it. He pulled a small brown bottle out and started to drink.

That man was my father.

The same man who had been stone cold sober for ten years.

I couldn't take it anymore so I broke the circle.

"Rachel," Derrick started to come closer to me.

"Guys, just leave me alone. I can't take this anymore. This was a mistake," I told them.

I went to the back of the room and put my head in my hands. How could Dad do this?

How could he drink after ten years of staying sober?

"This can't a mistake, Rae. We see what we're supposed to-" I heard Derrick say as he came up behind me.

"Not about that Derrick…about my Dad. I didn't want you guys to see him like this." He lowered his voice.

"Listen to me Rae. There are people in our families with problems, too. But that can't stop what we're trying to do here, which is save the world. I didn't just call anyone to be our leader; I said it was you because you have that natural ability inside of you to bring people together. We can handle this. You just have to trust us, and yourself,"

He took my hand and squeezed it. " Because I trust you, Rachel, I trust you with my life,"

I sized him up. He still had his cute cornrows in, and he was wearing a blue football jersey and jeans. He still seemed so out of place here too, like he should be away from this, all of the craziness.

I squeezed back. "I trust you too, Derrick."

As I composed myself, I walked back to the remnant of the circle. No one seemed to be making any jokes about the situation. Becky welcomed me back with a wave.

"Over here, Rae, We think we know which hotel your father is at. In the room, before we broke contact, Tanya noticed a matchbook that said 'The Washington'. Using our powers again, we found out that the hotel is in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, near the White house."

"How far are we?" I asked.

"Walking distance. This spaceship lot is near the National Mall. We are less than three blocks from it." Kel gave his Intel report.

"Perfect."

* * *

"Now remember, follow my lead, I'm going to go in there and say that I'm his daughter. Kel will distract the rest of the hotel staff allowing us to get upstairs to his room. Using the spare room key they give guests, I'll go into the room and we can sober him up enough to tell him about our powers, what's going on, and how we can save Mom and Uncle Marco. Sound good?

Everyone nodded his or her heads.

"Are you sure this is going to work Rachel? You are missing half of your family."

"It'll work, now to play the part."

I pinned some souvenir pins on my shirt to show I was a tourist, flipped my hair back, and walked into the hotel.

There was a blonde lady with short hair sitting at the front desk.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"Excuse me, is there a Jacob Berenson checked in here for tonight?"

"Hold on, let me check for you young lady, in fact...there is. But why would this information matter to you?"

"Well, because I'm his daughter, and he forgot to leave me a room key."

"YOU'RE his daughter?" she said in disbelief.

"Yes, yes, I am." I was peeved. Hadn't people ever met anyone of mixed-race before? It made me want to move back to the Bay right then and there.

"But you're-"

"Part African-American. Yeah, I get that all the time. Is my Dad up there or not?"

"Well, do you have any ID to verify your story?" She asked, quite demandingly.

ID. Damn. Well, I did have my school ID. Hopefully, that would be good enough.

Reluctantly, I gave it to her.

It seemed to pass her stamp of approval, because she issued me his room key.

"Room 720. Off the elevator to the right."

I winked to Kel's human form, which was outside the window. Now we could start part two to our plan.

"CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE!" Kel burst right in holding two chocolate ice cream cones and devouring them. "I never have them on the home world!"

"Please, sir. Calm down, this is a public place. There are plenty of private Andalite tasting sites in the District," The front desk lady got up and tried to subdue him.

While the rest of the staff was distracted with Kel, I motioned to my friends to join me inside and we snuck over to the elevator. I hit the button for the 7th floor.

"Are you ready Rachel?" Tanya rubbed my shoulder.

After all of this, almost nothing could faze me.

"What did that lady say to you at the counter? We could tell you were getting mad." she continued to say.

"Oh she just never heard of interracial relationships before."

Derrick snorted.

_My thoughts exactly. _

The tiny elevator dinged and we got off.

"Do you think we should go alone or give Rae some space? It's up to you, Rae." Derrick was nice enough to suggest. But I already knew the right thing to do.

"Guys, this is something I have to do on my own." I told them. "I'll be right back,"

I took the access card and flipped it over a few times in my hands. Then I walked with my head up to my Dad's hotel room. I slid the card into the lock...

_Don't be nervous, you've never seen him drunk. Or remembered him to be drunk anyway._

I got the shock of my life when I saw him on the other side of the door. _  
_

Dad was crumpled onto the floor, surrounded by some empty bottles from the mini bar. His hair was completely tussled and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a day. It also smelled like he had not showered either.

"Dad?" I called out.

"Ugh," I heard him grunt.

I rushed over to his side. "Oh Dad, what did you do to yourself?" My voice came out hollowly as I felt the graveness of the situation. My Dad, a reformed alcoholic, was sitting here drinking.

"Uh, wha-RAE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled as he pulled away from me.

"Dad! What is going on? Why are you drinking?"

"Get out."

"But-"

He was PISSED at me.

"I said. GET OUT. Are you deaf? And aren't you grounded? How did you get out here anyway?"

I had only seen Dad look this mad at the Barn. But I wasn't going to sit back and take his yelling at me. I was going to stand up for myself.

"That's it! You can't yell at me like that anymore!" I screamed back.

He looked shocked. Before he could say another word, my thoughts came pouring out of my mouth.  
"Mom's in trouble and I'm not going anywhere because I care about you both, and that I know something that could save Mom-"

Dad cut me off right there.

"Nothing can save your Mom. Not after how bad the situation is now. I really fucked things up this time." He wiped his puffy red eyes with his sleeve.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I sat down on the bed.

"The men, the ones who took your mother hostage, they're my oldest troops. I trusted them with the world, INSISTED they escort your mother and Uncle Marco to space, and they get infested and defect over to the other side. I couldn't stand to be around any more military people, I had to leave the complex; I simply can't bear to be there when-" his voice cracked.

"But I can save her, Dad, WE can save her."

He shook his head.

"My morphing is restricted to animals only, and you have no powers at all."

"That's what I came here to tell you. I DO have powers."

Dad just shook his head again. "Man, that rum was plenty powerful in there-"

I cut him off.

"No Dad, for real. I have powers. Strange ones. Supernatural ones. So do my friends."

For the first time, it seemed like he was listening to me, even though he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

_Now would be a good time for some backup. _I called out to my friends who were lounging in the hotel lobby.

"Um, does anyone know how to sober someone up quickly?" I asked as a general statement.

"Oh, I know plenty of home remedy cures," Becky volunteered, "Best thing to do would be to brew him a cup of coffee. I'll get on that."

Dad was still slumped over as they got over to him. Becky raced into the bathroom to start making the coffee with the complementary brewers they hotels leave in bathrooms.

"Uh, Dad? Here are my friends, Tanya, Derrick, and Jon. Kel is downstairs and Becky's in the bathroom making you some fresh coffee. We're the Precognitics, and we're going to save the world."

He just blinked.

"That's ridiculous, you don't any powers like having the power to morph. Your mom and I swore never to give that to you. Even if you somehow went behind my back and got it, you don't have other resources to go and help your mother."

"We do, Dad. We can see and move back and forth in time. Plus, look."

_Keep Dad unfrozen,_ I thought as I squinted my eyes.

"Check that out."

The entire room was frozen except for us. Derrick was hiding behind a table just in case Dad went Bezerk! Jon and Tanya were talking, while Becky was walking in with a pot of coffee.

Dad was almost speechless. "What the hell did you just do?" He managed to eke out after he calmed down.

"I froze time, Dad. I froze time."

He pushed himself up to a sitting position, he seemed to be sobering up really quickly.

"Is that the boy I told you to stay away from?" he narrowed in on Derrick, balling his fists up.

"Yes, yes, but Dad, please don't kill him. Please, he's a Precognitic too."

Dad's fists released from their balls.

"I suppose I should give the boy five minutes to explain himself. Anyway, how, how are you doing all of…this?"

"With my mind. I'm using the psychic energy the Ellimist said I possessed to stop time, at least in this room."

He leaned back, impressed.

"Can you start it up again?"

"Oh sure."

I blinked my eyes again, and everyone became animate.

"Hey Rae, here's your coffee. They had instant Sanka," Becky handed me the steaming cup.

"Thanks Becky," I handed it to Dad. "You should probably drink this," I suggested to him.

He took a big gulp and put it down.

"Oh boy, wow. Just wow. I can't believe it. This is what the Ellimist-the prophecy, just, oh boy."

_The Prophecy? He knew?_

"This is amazing kids, this really is," Dad finally admitted.

"So will you help us Mr. Berenson? We can't save them without your assistance." Jon asked.

Dad was silent for a couple of minutes. Then, he spoke. Loud and clear.

"Get me my wheelchair. We have Yeerks to fight."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Derrick brought over Dad's wheelchair. Dad was able to put himself in the chair without any help. He did give Derrick this dirty look though. Derrick bolted away to the other side of the room and halfway hid behind a wall. Daddy was NOT playing around with him. I'm sure he wasn't a fan of this psychic arrangement in the first place.

"So, Mr. B., What are we supposed to do?" Tanya asked.

"That's a good question. I wish I had a good answer for you all. Other than Rae, all of your psychic powers are too defensive to be used in combat, and I would NEVER think about sending my daughter into harms way." He narrowed his eyes at Derrick.

"Then what are we supposed to do Dad, sit around and wait until you say it's safe? We DO have an Andalite to watch over while we're here." I folded my arms over each other.

"Listen, you all have taken it as far as I feel comfortable in letting you all go. What would I tell your parents? That I let you get yourselves nearly killed trying to save Rae's Mom? Trust me, war is not something you want to rush into. Ever."

After Dad's mini-speech, we were all pretty much silent. Until Jon's eyes went wide, like he was remembering something important.

"Kel!" he yelled. "We left Kel downstairs! They're not going to keep in the hotel for long!"

"You left an Andalite, by himself, in a human hotel? Are you just asking for trouble? Look, look. I'll fix myself up here. You go find your Andalite friend. Rae, bring him up here. I'm assuming he's how you all got here, with his ship." I nodded and backed out the way. None of this made any sense to me. How was it that Dad was drinking again? He swore off the stuff when I was two. Were things really that bad with Mom and Uncle Marco that he had to throw his sobriety away?

I was about to find out.

Downstairs, there was still a commotion. Kel demorphed, but was surrounded by security guards and his hooves were slipping in the remnants of the ice cream cones He was trying to explain that he was not a misbehaving alien, but a good and trustworthy Andalite.

He saw me throughout all of the traffic and pointed.

(There! That's the human who is my leader! Princess Rachel!)

I stopped and swing my head around. Other Andalite guards were restraining the poor Andalite, and they had his tail down on the ground.

"Please, Please, this is torture. Let him go. He is with me." I shoved my way over through all the excited onlookers.

(And you are?) One of the guards said.

"Rachel Berenson. Gosh, what is it with everyone wanting to know who I am today?"

The Andalite ignored my rant and released Kel into my custody.

(Oh boy, Princess Rachel, that was quite the experience. The flavors of the Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream sent my mind into overdrive-)

_Wow, Andalites sure liked their food._

_Even during times like this._

"Um, Kel, that's great, but right now I need you to focus. We need to go upstairs, where my Dad and I are working out a plan to save my Mom and Uncle Marco."

(As you wish, Princess Rachel).

Unforced loyalty? Now THIS I could get used to.

Kel and I took the elevator back up to Dad's room, where I guess he was entertaining them with war stories.

"Oh, there you two are."

(Is this THE Jake, THE Prince Jake?)

"Yes, but-"

(Prince Jake, my name is Kelmiter-Pafriss-Extaran. To be in your presence, it is an honor. Any way I can be of service, please let me know.)

"Uh, sure…the first thing you can do is have a seat while I instruct you guys about what you'll be facing. I don't want to send you up there but I have no choice. They are keeping Cassie and Marco in a heavily guarded sensory deprived room. So far, no one has come up with any way to penetrate the barriers set up by the Yeerks."

"Mr. B, uh, sir. How could our powers help?" Derrick was very nervous as he spoke.

"Your powers aren't very offensive, and Rae, how long can you hold your freezes?"

"Not very long Dad, a couple minutes, maybe."

He ruffled his hands through his hair. "We'll need a rescue squad to get both of them out of there. Problem is, you kids never had any military training, and you'd be fighting grown Xenowarriors. I'll have to think about our other options"

"Dad, why don't you just leave us in the spaceship with a video camera, so we can see what's going on, and if we need to, we can turn back time or put the freeze on."

He snapped his fingers.  
"Perfect."

* * *

The ride to the Pentagon was a short one. The only problems they had at the entrance were with Kel; they didn't exactly feel comfortable with a young Andalite walking around with no orders in particular. But what Dad said, went. The soldiers immediately perked up when he rolled through the corridors.

_It must feel nice to get all of this attention…_

Finally, he came down a hallway and into a room where many generals and admirals were sitting around a conference table.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, pardon me for having to step away from the situation for a moment. I have now found what is going to defeat the rebel Yeerks.

He pointed to us.

"These kids,"

Everyone in the room looked a bit skeptical. And incredulous.

Me? I was just intimidated by the stars on their shoulders.

But Dad presented our case.

"Listen, these kids, they have…powers. Amazing, extraordinary powers. If you allow them to demonstrate."

Dad winked at me. I motioned for everyone to form a circle. We all closed our eyes and then there was this glow coming from the middle of the circle.

I could see Mom, strapped to a wall, begging for them to stop pushing Uncle Marco's head into a tub of water while his head was covered by a hood.

_WHOA._

"Okay, that's enough kids." Dad signaled to me to stop.

We dropped hands.

"Well, that's impressive Mr. Berenson, but how can this help us other than give us a window into what's currently going on in that ship?"

"That's not the only gift they possess. Rae, are you ready?"

I nodded. I think I could selectively freeze my friends for all of the military people.

I blinked at them.

They stopped in a perfect state of suspended animation.

"Now can that help you?" Dad asked, beaming with pride (though I still think he was a little bit drunk)

The Generals and Admirals were flabbergasted.

"How is she doing that? It must be a magic trick!" One yelled from down the table.

"Oh there are no tricks here. It's just my daughter and her special powers."

Even though it was a cool power, I couldn't hold them like that forever. I blinked again to release them.

"RAE! What was up with that? Let us know before you go off freezing us!" Becky yelled.

"Well sorrrrry," I said smartly back to her.

"Ladies, ladies," Dad came in between us. "This is not the time or place,"

I rolled my eyes. So did Becky

"Anyway sirs and madams, I was thinking with their skills, we could send a rescue squad to outer space, see into the future with their powers, and stop time when necessary with my daughter's own special gifts."

He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Well, now that I've seen what they can do, we'd be fools not to let them help in some capacity. Williams, go give the orders to the rest of the Xenowarriors based out of D.C. We're going to take these traitors out. Berenson, how close do these kids need to be to exercise their powers?"

"I'd recommend taking them in the same ship that the Xenowarriors dock in. It seems like their power has a limited range."

"Well the more we sit and talk about it the more time we waste, the longer Cassie and Marco are in peril. Let's commence the operation immediately."

* * *

A few hours later we were sitting in a large spaceship, in mini-spacesuits the Xenowarfare program used. Dad was there giving us our final instructions.

"You all are to be used for recon only through your power, and Rae, use your freezes. Otherwise, do NOT get off this spaceship. There is a very strong likelihood you will be killed."

He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Does everyone understand?"

We nodded our heads.

"Good,"

Dad pulled me aside from the others.

"We're taking a big risk here, Rachel. The selfish part of me doesn't want to send my oldest child up there to fight. But if there's no other way to save your mother, what has to be done has to be done."

He gave me an embarrassing hug. "Bring everyone back safely,"

Then he rolled out of the ship.

It really hit me.

This was starting to get deadly serious.

Derrick noticed that I was out of sorts a bit and came over to me.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I lied.

"You don't have to lie to me Rae, I was just as freaked out at what they were doing to your Mom and Marco as everyone else was."

I gripped his hand.

"We'll I just want them back, alive."

He gave me a hug.

"We'll get them,"

But I wasn't sure if he even believed it himself, because he was trembling.

We took our seats in the ship as one of the Generals explained to the crew what the mission was. Derrick sat next to me and held my hand. I smiled.

BOOM!!!!! I could hear the engine roar as we started to take off. This ship had the sickening effects of G-Force, something that Kel's ship did not have. I thought I was going to puke. Out of my window, I could see the ground get farther and farther away, until we were out of Earth's atmosphere totally.

The Earth looked like it did one some of those posters at school. A big blue marble.

_Gorgeous._

I focused my attention back on my friends. Some of them looked like they were going to barf any second now, especially Derrick.

_Please don't let him throw up on my lap. _

Thankfully, we got high enough up so that we could get out of the seats. Unfortunately, this was not a Zero-G flight. The artificial gravity machines whirred softly in the background.

"Ah, good, you're all here and feeling relatively fine. Come to the front, we're almost to the Blade Ship."

I looked upon it. It was ominous.

And scary.

_Mom, hold on, I'm coming. _

I could feel us slow down, and start to hover under the ship.

"Attention on deck!" The General yelled

All the soldiers stood at attention.

"AS you know, we have a few traitors amongst us. They have kidnapped two of your fellow freedom fighters, Marco Jones and Cassie Berenson. You must go in and rescue them. While minimizing casualties and capturing the rebels that are holding Jones and Berenson hostage. Is that understood?"

"SIR, YES SIR!!" All 40 or so of them collectively yelled.

"Battle morphs, ready!" he yelled again.

The men started to shift and change until I saw a lot of tigers, jaguars, lions, gorillas, and wolves sitting and waiting on the floor.

I felt another jolt from above.

_We must be docked with them._

All of the animals ran upstairs to the docking bay.

The general turned to us again.

"I want you kids to use that power of yours. Show me in the future what's going to happen."

We got together in a circle and held hands.

Instantly, we saw slaughtered animals everywhere.

Mom…Uncle Marco…

They were on the ground too.

And they weren't breathing.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

(Rae)

"Look, we have to stop this."

I broke the circle and I ran up to the general.

"Get your men out of there, they'll never make it out alive." I told him.

The General wagged a big, stubby finger at me.

"That's not your decision to make, little girl. Our soldiers know that there have to be sacrifices made in order to-"

"But our vision, we just saw my Mom and Uncle Marco dead too! You know you can't let them die!"

The general twisted his face up, I know he didn't like what I was saying to him.

"Ok kid, what do you propose, to do." He wiped the sweat off of his face with his hand.

"We have to turn back time."

The general laughed. "Hahaha. There's no way you kids can turn back time far enough to stop them from getting kidnapped…"

We all just gave him a stare.

"Is there?" he looked flabbergasted.

"Just watch" We grabbed hands again. "I have the perfect time in mind"

First the room started to spin around. Slowly at first, like a top, but then it went faster and faster and faster. It felt like we were ripping time itself apart. Little pulses of light started to streak around us…and it started to feel really hot. Hotter than a day at the beach.

Suddenly, we were gone off of the spaccship!

And to another place…

* * *

When the room finally stopped spinning, we got our bearings and looked around. The place we were at was barren, military-like.

_What are we doing here? Where are we?_

At first the voices were dim, but as we came into existence during this period of time, the voices became louder.

"How's everything going, tennis champ?"

"Tennis Champ? Did you know about this beforehand? Dad!"

"Hey baby. Ignore him. You look wonderful."

"Wow, I didn't expect to hear from you guys so soon, I was pretty sure that the government would hide you guys forever."

"Oh don't worry, they're doing that, but we just needed to check in and see how our babies were doing."

"Mom, I'm not a baby. I'm almost thirteen! A teenager!"

"Rae…" "Well, anyway, where's the rest of the gang?"

"Oh, Grandma and Grandpa are upstairs giving Tommy and Melissa baths."

"Well, we'll give you guys a call another time. Just remember that we love you."

"I love you guys too…be safe…. what ever you're doing."

"How did she become such a piece of work so fast?"

I remembered this conversation! It was the last one I had with my parents before Mom and Uncle Marco got kidnapped!

I looked around. Mom and Dad were staring at the blank screen. My friends were still similarly disoriented. No way was I just talking to my parents while another "me" was standing here!

_Well you do know the hazards of time travel…_

"Mom, Dad?" I sort of screamed from across the room. They turned around with a shock.

"Rachel?! How can you be here! We were just talking to you back home!"

"Well, let's just say it's complicated. Really complicated." I tried to explain

"How do we know it's really you?" Dad said with a frown. Dad was skeptical about this, me being here.

"Mom, remember the top step on the stairs in the house. No one can ever fix it right and I always trip over it!" I pointed out. "Who else would know about that?"

Mom and Dad shared glances. It looked like they believed me. Yes! "Ellimist?" She finally asked.

"No, the Precognitics!" Jon said with pride. Everyone ignored him though.

"Um, Rachel, what is HE doing in the group?" Dad pointed at Derrick.

"Do we really need to get into that?" I started to moan.

"Yes" Dad said

"It's ok Mr. B., I understand" Derrick bowed his head.

"We came from the future to tell you something very important. Mom, you cannot go into space today." I flatly said.

"Why not" Dad asked.

"You will be kidnapped, tortured, and killed." Becky blurted out.

_And Dad, you'll fall off of the wagon. _

They both looked shocked.

"No offense Mr. and Mrs. B, but do we look like we're joking around?" Tanya said respectfully.

I then realized we were still wearing the ugly outfits the Army gave us.

"So, how are we supposedly kidnapped?" Mom said.

"All they know in our world is that it's an inside job. Apparently the people that you trust the most will be the ones to betray you and capture you."

Dad looked confused for a second. Then it appeared as though a light clicked on in his head. "Nathan, Shawn, Michael, Wayne".

Mom shook her head. "No way they would betray us Jake. They were your first Xenowarfare students-kids, look out!" She screamed and pointed down the hall.

We turned around and saw 4 soldiers preparing to take out some sort of weapon from their holsters.

"Go hide in our quarters!" Mom and Dad said. Since we were situated closer to their living quarters than to the four soldiers trying to kill us, we RAN down the hallway as fast as we could.

Then I heard Mom and Dad morphing and Dracon Beams flying everywhere. I could hear a tiger's roar and a wolf's bark as they started to battle the soldiers.

There was some cursing, and more roaring as the soldiers went up against Mom and Dad. I couldn't tell who was winning,

ROAR! Tseww! Tseww!

Then we heard automatic gunfire. BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM.

Everything stopped.

"What do you think happened Rae?" Tanya asked, her voice full of fear.

"I don't know, but I have to find out. They're my parents, past timeline or not."

I decided to peek out of the crack in the door. I got the shock of my life as I looked down the hall.

Those four soldiers were dead, covered in dark red blood. Mom and Dad were also covered in blood, but they were in the process of demorphing. A big burly soldier helped him back into his wheelchair. There were more regular soldiers with guns pointed at the dead guys.

I stepped out of their room and into the lounge where all the commotion had taken place. Immediately Mom and Dad ran over to me and started to hug me, after they demorphed.

I wanted to puke. This whole scene was making me sick.

_They were right, war IS hell. _

Then a shock came to Mom's eyes. It seemed like she was remembering something.

"There are two of you in this timeline. You have to go back. Get your friends and tell them, otherwise your existence could be destroyed,"

I nodded solemly.

I knew what I had to do.

Sullenly, I went back over to my parents' sleeping quarters and told everyone else what was going on. We grabbed hands and that familiar dizzy feeling overtook everyone. The room started spinning around and around and around. Pulses of light wrapped around us. So did the heat. Then we were gone.

* * *

(Esplin)

Ah, we had them. There was nothing that anyone could do about it. I gazed out at the stars from the bridge of the Blade Ship. Edriss was proud of me, I know she was. I hadn't screwed this one up at all.

Speaking of Edriss, she was coming up to the bridge. It seemed she had a message for me.

"We've waterboarded both Cassie and Marco, but they have yet to divulge any information."

"Well maybe I should pay them a personal visit. You know how effective I can be against the humans."

"Not really, I was the one who lived among them for all of those years."

I rolled my eyes. Did she really have to point out every single technicality?

"Let's just go visit the humans, shall we?" I said.

"We're not going to talk about what happened the other night?" Edriss inquired

"There is nothing to talk about." I said succinctly.

"So you're just going to sit here and pretend like it never happened. Why do I bother?"

She stalked off ahead of me towards the East Bay, where the ones they call Cassie and Marco were being held.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. Perhaps it was because she felt the human emotion of 'anger' from being with me. Well, you know, that was okay. She made me feel angry most of the time as well. The power she exhibited over others. Her sense of control of situations. It all, shall we say, pissed me off, but that's what kept me coming back to her…

Finally, we arrived at East Bay. The waterboarding table was empty.

I decided to play 'nice'

"Hi Marco and Cassie"

I heard silence from their cells.

"You know, I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you both, up close and personal."

"We'll never tell you anything, Yeerk scum." A male's voice said, weakly. I assumed it to be Marco.

"Well, well, it looks like someone has an opinion." I made my way over to his cell and peeked inside.

The soldiers had done a good job on him. There were bruises everywhere on his body, and both his eyes were swollen shut. It didn't look like he could move exceptionally well.

However, the man was full of surprises.

As I opened up the door to his cell, something warm and sticky landed right onto my face.

Marco had spit on me!

"Oh, you'll pay for that you little stinking TERRAN" The human in me wanted to beat him up more.

The Yeerk in me controlled the human's urges, oh, I had a lot in store for this human.

"Oh no! NO! PLEASE! NO!" I could hear the other one scream. Cassie. My hate for that one was pretty strong as well. After all, she married Jake.

Edriss was preparing to waterboard her again when the emergency lights went on.

We heard screams of animals and looked towards the entrance.

Lions, tigers, wolves, and bears came to rush the entrance.

Edriss dropped Cassie and pulled out her hand-held Dracon. She started firing away at the animals. Most likely Xenowarriors.

"What are you standing there for Esplin? They're going to kill us! Do something!"

I pulled out my Dracon Beam and started to target random animals as well. But it was of no use. There were too many of them.

"THIS ISN"T GOING TO WORK, EDRISS!" I yelled

As soon as I got the words out of my mouth, everything went black. Pitch black.

I tried to look at myself, but I couldn't see my human host. Or Edriss.

_What in the universe? _

I wanted to call out to her, to make sure she was okay, but it was almost like we didn't exist.

Finally, we were dropped back into the East Bay.

But there were no animals.

Or Cassie.

Or Marco.

"Wha, what just happened?" I demanded of Edriss.

"I don't know! One minute we were being overrun by animals, the next, I'm alone here with you!"

I picked myself up and did a thorough examination of the East Bay. There were no traces of those Terrans anywhere.

Then something worse happened.

INCOMING, INCOMING, 1 MINUTE UNTIL IMACPT. The loudspeakers blared.

What? Something was coming for us?

"Edriss, did you hear that? Someone is shooting at us!"

"I know that, help me find a shield or something to deflect the missile, or we're dead!"

I went over to the all-too-familiar dials and controls. Nothing was working.

I tried in vain to pilot the ship away from its current position. But that didn't work either, the controls were stalled.

30 SECONDS UNTIL IMPACT.

"Edriss….it's no use. This is it."

"Esplin, there's something I have to tell you," she turned around to face me.

"Yes, there's something I have to tell you too."

"I love you," we both blurted out at the same time.

10, 9, 8, 7…

I pulled Edriss into an embrace. As soon as our lips touched, I could feel the impact of the missile on the ship.

And then everything went white.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Same Disclaimer applies

As we were twisting away in the bright lights, I pondered what we just did.

We were responsible for killing four people and changing the past. Who knows what effect that would have on our future?

Would we be sent to a post apocalyptic world like last time? Or maybe, just maybe, what we did had no effect on anything and we would end up just like we started, on the spaceship with the General.

Slowly, we stopped spinning. Jon leaned over and started to hurl.

"Sorry guys, I have motion sickness," he tried to explain.

"It's ok Jon, It looks like we're in the perfect place for that…" I started to say as I looked around. There were excessively bright lights and the empty room we were in was decked out in white. We could see people in lab coats and scrubs were running every which way while we were surrounded by unused medical equipment.

(Where are we?) Kel asked with wonder as he started to morph.

"This, this is a hospital. Where sick and injured humans go to get better," I answered ,"But why are we here?"

"We obviously changed something in the past Rae. We all saw it. Maybe this place has something to do with the consequences of that change." Jon pointed out.

Just like that, an orderly and hospital security guard opened the door and came up to me.

"Are you Rachel Berenson?"

I nodded my head.

"Everyone has been looking for you. It was like you disappeared for a good while there."

"Well, sorta-"

"Who are they?" The security guard pointed his baton at my friends. Luckily, Kel had turned himself into a human so that we wouldn't attract any more attention.

"Oh, these are my friends."

"Well, come on. Your father needs you, especially during a time like this,"

I looked up at the rent-a-cop. His silly brown and black uniform was ill-fitting, like he still needed time to grow into it. He barely had whiskers on his face.

_Why should I care about what you think?_

"As it is, I need to take you to your father. We'll figure out how to get your friends home. They'll need to wait in the security office."

I waved goodbye to them as I was escorted down the hall and into an elevator. My friends went who knows where.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Oh, to the ICU, the intensive care unit."

_INTENSIVE_ _CARE!_

And they hadn't said a word about Mom at all.

_What if-?_

No Rae, you can't think like that!

Finally, we got to the right floor and the elevator doors squeaked open. I looked down the hall and saw a very forlorn-looking Dad sitting near the entrance to a room in his wheelchair.

I ran down the hall.

"DAD!" I screamed

A nurse turned around to shush me, but I fell into his arms.

"Rae! You're safe! We didn't know what happened after you left us in the barracks…we hoped you find your way here…"

"Our powers brought us here Dad."

He nodded his head.

"Where are all the generals? Do they know we made it back to Earth safely?"

Dad looked puzzled.

"What generals?"

"You know, the generals that took us up to the Blade Ship in their spaceship?"

He just blinked at me.

"Rachel, maybe you need to sit down for a second. Time travel works in mysterious ways. None of that ever happened in this reality. After Nathan, Shawn, Michael, and Wayne were killed, and before you guys came here…your mother and I told the government of their treason. They found out the Blade Ship had re-entered the dark side of the moon and they sent a missile to take it out."

"So that means Mom and Uncle Marco were never kidnapped and tortured."

"No, and this also means that you changed the future by changing the past, so whatever happened to them no longer exists in this timeline."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

_Dad, you never got drunk…_

Then I got curious.

"So, where's Mom?"

Dad sighed.

"Rachel, there were, some…complications…after your mom and I…after we stopped fighting. Your Mom…she was" Dad looked like he was about to burst into tears. Already his eyes were bloodshot. "Your Mom was pregnant."

_PREGNANT? Well that explains everything…_

"About 3 months. But the morphing, and the fighting, it was very hard on her. Almost immediately after we told the government everything we knew, she started having pains. We rushed her to the hospital but it was too late. They said she lost the baby but she'll be okay." Dad shook his head and the tears started to pour down his cheeks. "I'll never understand. Our family has been through so much. Maybe it was the universe's way of evening things out."

I could feel something hot and wet on my face too. My tears.

"No Dad, No! It's not fair!"

He brought me in for another embrace.

"Shh, Rachel, believe it or not, we'll all get through this. We will."

I wiped some tears away from my eyes. "Can I see her?"

He nodded his head. "She's been looking forward to seeing you."

Dad took my hand and we rolled/walked into her room.

Mom looked haggard. There was an IV coming out of her arm and her eyes were halfway shut.

"They have her on some pretty good painkillers, but you can talk to her. She's still awake. "

I went over to her and gave her a hug.

"Mom," I whispered.

"Hey baby," she said softly. "I was so worried about you when you disappeared"

"Well I made it here. I'm so sorry Mommy."

"Shh, honey, it's not your fault. You did some heroic things to save us."

I paused for a second.

"Wait, you remember, about the torture, and the alternate timeline?"

"All of it. I'm sub-temporally grounded, remember?"

I nodded.

"I just care that my babies are safe, each and every one of you."

She stroked my cheek.

"I still can't believe my baby, the wildcard," Mom sounded like she was getting woozy.

_WILDCARD._

"Maybe we should give your mother some space." Dad took me to a secluded area of her room.

"I should call my parents. Knowing you, they probably don't know you're here.,." Dad took his cell phone out of his pocket. "Darn, no service!"

"This IS a hospital Jake," Mom managed to mumble loudly from the bed.

"You're right, I'll use the payphone, honey." Dad shook his head and rolled out of the room.

I just pushed my chair closer to Mom's bed. I didn't want to be away from her, not for one second. I feared that I would be taken out of this reality. So I held her hand.

Yeah, we definitely had a bond. One that neither time nor space nor crazy evil overlords could break.

Dad came back a few minutes later.

"I told your grandparents, they said you escaped from our museum?? Rachel, are you not aware that you're still on punishment?"

"But I saved the world!"

"That's not the point! Well maybe it is, but anyway. You're grounded for two more weeks."

Two weeks! That meant that I couldn't go to the winter dance!

Dad wasn't fair. I saved the world and this was the thanks that I got.

"Uh, Mr. Berenson. I found these kids out in the hallway, they said they were with your daughter…I was going to take them to the security office, but I figured you might have a better idea of what to do with them."

"They're a long way from home. Just leave them here with me. I'll take care of them." Dad motioned for them to come over to where we were.

My friends looked back and forth at each other, petrified. I guess being around Dad did not make them all warm and fuzzy inside.

"How long are they going to keep Mom here?" I asked, somewhat changing the subject.

"Only for tonight, they want to keep her for observation, to make sure she's okay. I'm staying at The Washington Hotel. It's the Presidential suite, so there will be plenty of room for you and your friends."

The Washington. Oh did I have a story to tell him about the alternate reality in that place.

"Honey, it's 6 o clock. Visiting hours are over. I'll check in with you tomorrow." Dad rolled over to Mom and gave her a quick peck. Then she turned over and went to sleep.

_Feel better Mom. Especially after everything you've been through._

* * *

That night, Dad took us over to The Washington. Oddly, there were no problems with the front desk staff this time around.

"Okay, guys in one room, girls in the other." Dad ordered, eyeballing Derrick the entire time.

"Mr. B. can I just say something?"

Dad turned around and paused in his wheelchair, ready to listen.

"I like your daughter. But I would never do anything to disrespect her. Ever. All I care about is her happiness, and if you truly don't want me to be around her, I understand. I just want Rae to be happy."

Dad looked shocked. Then he softened his stance

"Well young man, I will have to talk to your parents before you and Rae can start seeing each other. I just want to make sure you are as sincere as you say you are."

He rolled away to his bedroom.

"So I guess that means we can be together, huh?" Derrick asked with a twinkle in his eye.

I reached for and squeezed his hands.

"Hopefully,"

"OOOOOOO" Tanya and Becky both said.

"Yeah, yeah, guys." I couldn't help but hide my grin.

_Dad's not being an ogre. We really must have done a number on the world!_

* * *

The next day we all took a spaceship back home. There was a large crowd waiting for us. Reporters and news vans were milling about everywhere.

"Mr. Berenson, what exactly happened in Washington? And why is your daughter involved?"

"No comments until the press conference." Dad said sternly.

I saw Grandma and Grandpa, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. They were standing next to a few cops, with Tommy and Melissa in tow. When I walked off the spaceship, they ran over to me. A few minutes of Rae-getting-the-life-squeezed-out-of-her happened.

"Oh Rae, we were SO worried after you disappeared from the museum. Don't ever scare us like that again, okay?" Grandma touched my chin.

"I promise," I fell into her hug.

Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop made their way over to Mom and helped her down the spaceship ramp. I guess they heard the bad news last night, because they didn't look happy. We got escorted to a limousine that was waiting for us and it took us to the museum, where the press conference was going to be held.

_Oh joy, the perks of being a mini-celebrity._

Mom sensed that I was nervous and she patted the seat next to her. I made my way to the back and sat next to her.

"Don't worry, I hate press conferences too, believe it or not."

I broke out into a small smile.

"I'm glad to have you here, Mom. I'm glad we saved you."

She kissed my head.

"I'm glad you did too. I'm glad you did too."

* * *

"So we stopped the alien threat and were able to neutralize their most dangerous asset, the Blade Ship. Any more questions?"

Mom and Dad were conducting a press conference, and gee, people had so many questions about the aliens. It seemed like we were sitting there for hours listening to them answer the same questions over and over again.

"How did you come across the alien conspiracy, Mr. Berenson?" one reporter asked.

Dad chuckled

"Let's just say I had some unexpected help on that one."

"What do you mean by unexpected help?" the reporters were confused.

Dad looked out at the audience and winked at me.

"Sometimes the best plans are the surprise ones. And that's all I can say without releasing classified material."

Everyone in the room started to laugh.

After all of this, Dad still thought I was special enough to protect.

Just one question, where was Uncle Marco?

"We were wondering Mr. and Mrs. Berenson, what did happen to Marco?'

"Oh, I can answer that."

We looked to the side of the room. Uncle Marco came in, looking disheveled.

"You see, I was actually supposed to be there, but I overslept. You can't underestimate the power of the lovely ladies. It seems that I missed all of the commotion."

The whole room laughed again. Uncle Marco came up to the podium and kissed Mom on the cheek, and shook hands with Dad.

"I wish I hadn't, boy, I missed one hell of a battle-"

"Thank you, Marco," Mom held up a hand. "Now, does anyone else have any more questions?"

The press corps was silent.

"Then our representatives will contact you with any additional information. Thank you so very much for your time."

The room started buzzing and the cops let me on stage to give my parents more hugs. Some photographers were taking pictures of us.

"What's going to happen now Mom?"

"Home baby. We're going home."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Same Disclaimer Applies

2 weeks later…

(Rae)

Sweep. Sweep.

That was the sound my broom made against the concrete floor as I brushed hay into a pile.

Oh yeah, I was still grounded. Mom and Dad wanted to send a message to me, I still had to follow their rules, even though I saved the universe. Humph.

It just wasn't fair.

Though I shouldn't be too hard on them.

The first thing we did was move back onto the farm. Mom and Dad thought we could stay there now, that it was safe enough to live on.

Speaking of safe enough, Mom and Dad let Tommy and me go back to regular school. They figured since the alien threat was over, and the government released all the aliens from the internment camps, it would be fine for us to go back, provided that I didn't get into any more trouble.

Mom was trying to take it slow ever since her miscarriage. That meant Dad spent more time being active in our lives. He would pick us up after school and do special fun things for us, like letting us order takeout. Tonight we were having Pizza! Not tomato pie like Mom enjoys. Real, greasy, delicious pizza!

But that was later on tonight, right now I still had to clean up the barn.

As I swept up the barn, I heard the sound of wheels coming through the front door.

Dad came in, dressed in work clothes, with a hose in his hand.

"I thought you could use some help,"

"Uh, sure," What could I say, no? Besides, it would make my life easier.

We worked in silence for a while. Dad hosed down some of the stalls that weren't in use as I swept the hay. Then I checked to make sure we had enough medical supplies. Good, everything was in stock.

As I came back out, Dad was wiping his brow and tying up the hose.

"Come over here for a second, Rachel. I want to talk to you."

_Uh-Oh._

"Sit down, sit down. You aren't in trouble." He motioned me to come over with his hand.

I tried to wipe some poop off of my overalls, then I went over to Dad and sat next to him on a bale of hay.

"You know Rae, I used to come out here and muck stalls with your Mom. Just to spend time with her."

I shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea what this had to do with me.

"I'm not the monster you think I am."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued.

"I know that we've had a lot of tension between us. But I think that there is something you should know."

"Um, know what?" I asked. I had no idea where this was going.

"That I love you and your brother sister so much, more than anything else in the world."

"Well Dad I,"

"If I can't show you, I'll tell you."

* * *

10 years ago. (This flashback takes place between The New and The Struggle).

Cassie was pacing the halls, dressed up in a business suit. This weekend, she had a meeting with the Hork-Bajir, but she couldn't bring Rae there, she was too young. Unfortunately, Katie, her babysitter, was out of town due to a school trip.

She was completely out of options…unless…

_That's PERFECT!_

Cassie started to pack Rachel's clothes.

_I just hope he's healthy enough… _

Cassie packed her own clothes for the weekend, and gently placed a still-sleeping Rachel in her stroller.

Balancing everything, she made it to her car. She put Rae in her car seat and folded up the stroller. Then she put her things in her car and they started to make the drive across the bay to Berkeley.

When they arrived at Jake's apartment, his door was locked. Thankfully, when they decided to rekindle their relationship, he gave her the extra key. She quietly opened his door and pushed a still-sleeping Rachel inside. She looked around. It was sloppy, like she expected Jake's apartment to be, but not excessively so.

Still, she did hit some dirty T-shirts as she pushed Rae's stroller.

Finally, she came to Jake's bedroom. He was sleeping, as usual. So she decided to wake him up.

"Jake, Jake," she whispered in his ear.

Jake stirred in the bed, and groggily opened his eyes. He focused his good eye on Cassie.

"Cass," he stroked her cheek.

"Hey baby," she kissed him. "How are you?"

"Well I'm fine, now that you're here." Jake smiled.

"That's great." She smiled back helped him sit up.

"So what are you doing here? I mean, it's pretty EARLY for you to be over here."

Cassie gave him this look like she just got her hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Well, uh, ah, I need your help." Cassie finally admitted.

"What kind of help?" Jake asked.

"Um, I'm taking a trip this weekend, and I kind of need you to watch Rae for a few days."

"WHAT?" Jake yelled.

"Shh, Jake, don't wake her up!"

"Cassie, you want ME, to watch a baby? That's just insane. I can barely take care of myself!"

"She's not just a baby, she's YOUR baby. And Jake, I can't take her with me, not to a Hork-Bajir colony. You're my only option."

Jake sighed.

"This is a lot of responsibility,"

"I know it is, but this can only help you in your therapy. Besides, won't Bruce be here either today or tomorrow?"

He scratched at his head. "Yeah,"

"Perfect." Cassie jumped off of the bed. "Here's her day bag and her diaper bag, it has a few changes of clothes and her nightgown in it with plenty of training pants. I also packed a bathing suit. Plus some toys and books, just some stuff to do."

Cassie got up from the bed and kissed his head.

"I have to run, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call my Mom. My cell will be off."

She ran over to kiss Rae on the head. Immediately Rae woke up and started to yawn. Cassie put Rae on the bed.

"Now, be nice for Daddy, okay?" she nodded and smiled.

"I love you both," Cassie gave each of them another hug. "But I have to run," She stepped back from the bed and walked down the hall. "Bye!" she said.

"Cassie-"

All Jake could do is listen as the front door slammed.

So he turned to his daughter, who was sitting on the bed. He gave her a vacant stare. She stared back at him with those same eyes.

"So kid, do you like Lucky Charms?"

* * *

Jake held Rae in his arms as he rolled up to the kitchen.

"Let's see, are you hungry?"

Rae nodded her head.

"Let me see what we have in the refrigerator…" Jake looked through it. "Um, some moldy cheese, half a quart of milk, a head of lettuce, some hamburger meat" Jake noticed that he still had some beer bottles left in the vegetable crisper. "Uh, Rae, just ignore that."

He grabbed the milk and poured some into a bowl for little Rae.

"Did your Mom feed you before you left her house?"

Rae shook her head no.

"Well, enjoy. I hope you really do like Lucky Charms, because that's all I have."

Rae smiled and shook her head up and down.

_At lest we have something in common…_ he thought to himself.

While Rae and Jake were enjoying their cereal, Jake heard another key open his door.

_Cassie already left, so this must be…_

"Hey Jake!" Bruce said with a smile. "It's good to see you up. And who is this?" He said with mock surprise.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Rachel."

"She's prettier than the pictures you have on your nightstand. How's it going there, little one?"

Rae looked up and smiled at Bruce.

"So what's on the agenda for today? The weight room?" Jake asked Bruce.

"Actually, I thought we could try something a little different. How about some pool therapy? It would be better for your legs, you could actually stretch out. Plus, it might give our little one something to do."

Jake tussled Rae's hair. Even though he didn't want to do PT, it wasn't like he had much of a choice.

"Sure Bruce, let's do it."

* * *

"Jump for me Rae, Jump into the pool. Don't worry, Daddy won't let you fall."

Rae looked petrified in her cute pink bathing suit as Jake was being supported by Bruce in the water.

"No Daddy!," she screamed.

"Come on, it's only water, it won't hurt you. And, we're in the shallow end. Daddy would NEVER allow anything to happen to you."

Jake realized he must look like a freak to Rae, with the scars on his chest and his bad eye fully exposed.

_I wouldn't jump to me either._

"Please?" Jake practically begged

Rae tentatively put one foot in front of the other. Then she jumped into Jake's arms.

"Whoa, whoa, there. I got you, I got you honey." Jake momentarily fell back into Bruce's arm because of Rachel's force. He placed her into the pool water. Rae instantly began to doggie-paddle. Good. Cassie never explained to Jake if Rae were able to swim or not.

So father and daughter spent a good amount of time playing together in the pool. It wasn't exactly therapy, but Bruce was happy that both of them were having a good time.

"It's the big sea monster!" Jake grabbed Rae from the water and held her on one bicep. His upper body had been getting very strong lately.

Two blondes obviously noticed, as they approached him playing with Rae in the pool.

"Hey there sexy," They said to him while his back was turned.

Jake paused for a second. No way these ladies were flirting with him. Especially not in front of his daughter.

He was going to clear this up right now.

"Uh hi." He turned around and both of the women started to recoil.

"Um, is that your daughter?" One of them forced out.

"Yes, this is my baby girl." Jake held Rae to his chest.

"Oh, well, that's nice. Molly, weren't we going to check out the diving board?"

"We sure were. You two have a nice day."

The two of them swam off.

* * *

"Wait Dad, were they freaked out because I was mixed or because you were paralyzed?"

"Oh, I think a bit of both. But back to the story."

* * *

Bruce swam up to Jake.

"Sorry, Jake, but our time is up here. I have to take you back home."

"But it seems like we just got here!" Jake complained.

"Sorry, bud, but you do know I have other clients."

"Yeah, I know," Jake frowned.

_Just when Rae and I were bonding…it's not fair._

On the way home, I'll take the two of you to McDonalds. How is that?

Jake's good eye lit up.

"That sounds excellent, Bruce. Cassie won't let me near the stuff."

So everyone got out of the pool, dried off, and went back in their street clothes. Jake still needed help getting dressed, so he took the longest.

But soon, they were in Bruce's car, Rae in her little car seat in the back, Jake up front, with Bruce searching for the nearest McDonalds. Finally, Bruce found one.

"Can I have two #1's and a Happy meal with Chicken McNuggets?" (A/N: It won't come with extra happy). Bruce said into the speaker.

A few moments later, Bruce drove around to get the food. Jake chomped down on the fries.

"Whoa, slow down there cowboy." Bruce warned him. "You don't want indigestion."

Jake slowed up a bit. He figured Bruce was right. He turned around to give Rae her food, but she was asleep.

Quietly, Bruce and Jake started talking about the Golden State game, being careful not to wake Rae up with the sound of their voices.

They made it home safely, and Bruce put Rae's car seat into Jake's lap. Then he pushed the two of them up the hill to Jake's apartment complex.

"Well, this is where I say goodbye. It was a pleasure to take you both out today. It seems she really helps with your therapy."

Jake grinned. "With Rae around, I know I can do anything."

Bruce hoped Jake would keep that positive spirit. Lately, they'd been on a roller coaster ride. Some days, Jake would be accepting of his disabilities. Other days, he would be very depressed.

Bruce hoped that being around his daughter would incite a turnaround for the better.

"Bye guys! Stay out of trouble today!" Bruce said as he began his walk down the hill.

"Oh we will, won't we?" Jake touched Rae's chin. She smiled.

"Play with Da-ddy more?"

"Yes honey, we can play, right after we eat something, because I know I'm STARVING. How about you?"

"YAH!" Jake picked her up and spun her around.

"Well let's eat then."

The McDonalds was devoured by them in less than 10 minutes. But Jake was having a harder time trying to contain Rae's energy.

_Cassie never told me about this part…_

Already she was running through every room of the house, knocking things down, and showing a special interest in the stuff under the sink…

"Rae NO!" Jake rolled over and snatched her up.

"Waaaaaaaaah!" She started to cry.

"Rae, I'm not trying to be mean, but you can't make a mess of Daddy's house, do you understand?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Why don't we watch some TV instead? I get some of the children's channels. How is Nick Jr.?"

"Yay!"

_Good…_

Jake flipped on the TV and rubbed Rae's head softly.

This…this was all right. Usually Cassie was here doing all the parenting when the three of them were together, but Jake was starting to get the hang of this parenting thing. There was nothing more precious on this Earth than his daughter. He had to give Cassie kudos. Barely a half a day with Rae and he was already worn out.

He glanced over to the couch. Rae had fallen asleep again.

Jake took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and take his noontime meds.

_All these pills…_

Cassie and the doctors said they were good for him, that they would help him become better. But he knew otherwise. He didn't feel any better and they made him feel worse, weak and nauseous.

He swallowed each and every one of them, then he rolled his way back up to the living room. Rae was still asleep.

He kissed her head, and held her.

Jake turned on the Golden State game and watched that for a while. When the game went off, Rae was still asleep.

_Geez, maybe the pool did wear her out._

Gently, Jake changed her from her overalls and shirt and into her nightgown.

"Mmgh," Rae said quietly in her adorable baby-talk.

"Oh, you're awake…" Jake felt like an idiot. It was only 5 o'clock. She would probably be wired for the rest of the day. Cassie always said that Rae's system wasn't built for long nights.

_Well, let me just check something._

Jake put a hand to Rae's forehead.

_That's odd. No fever._

Rae used this time to escape from the couch and go wander down the hall to Jake's bathroom.

"Potty Daddy, Potty!"

"Whoa there! Don't disappear on Daddy! I'll take you right there!"

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Jake had Rae ready for bed on the couch. Cassie wrote Jake a note in Rae's diaper bag that Rae shouldn't stay up past 6.

"But Da-ddy no sleep!" She said as he buttoned up her jammies.

"That's because Mommy won't get angry if Daddy doesn't sleep." Jake said with a coy smile. "So it's off to bed for you, young lady."

Jake pressed her little button nose. Gosh, she was so cute!

"Da-ddy read me a story! STORY!" Rae yelled.

"Ok, Ok kid. I'll read you a story." Jake rolled over to the diaper bag and picked out a book. "The Little Mermaid?"

Rae shook her head no.

"Hansel and Gretel?"

Rae shook her head no again.

"Oh how about this one, The Six Who Saved the World"

Instantly waves of pain flew through Jake. He wasn't so sure that reading this book to Rae right now was a good idea. The realities of the last battle were still fresh in his mind.

But by seeing Rae's adorable face wait in anticipation, he knew he couldn't resist.

Jake sighed and flipped open to the first page.

"One night five kids decided to take a shortcut home…"

Jake flipped through the book. It was pretty accurate while being kid-friendly.

_Cassie must have signed off on it. _

Jake got about halfway through the book before he noticed that Rae was knocked out.

_Wow. That was fast. _

He leaned down to kiss her head. Then he watched her sleep for a while.

This was so peaceful. It felt so right, being here with his daughter.

_I hope nothing like the Yeerks ever destroys her generation._

Finally, Jake turned his wheelchair around and went into his bedroom, preparing for a new day.

* * *

The first sensation that Jake felt upon walking was something, or someone poking his eyes. He opened them.

Rae was sitting next to him, ready to poke again.

He yawned. "Hey Rae. Don't do that to Daddy. His eyes are bad enough."

Sitting up on the bed, he took Rae into his arms.

So what do you want to do today?

"Zoo!"

_The apple doesn't fall far from the tree…_

"You want to go to the Zoo, huh? Well…there is this Petting Zoo about four blocks from here that has all kinds of animals, from little baby sheep to ponies. I know you'll like that!"

Rae gurgled and smiled. "Yah Daddy!"

"Good, let's give you a bath and get you ready."

Jake maneuvered out of the bed and into his wheelchair. Then he picked Rae up and took her to the bathroom.

"Well, I don't have any bubble bath, or toys here. So bath time won't be as fun as it is at Mommy's house. Sorry honey."

"I no like bath," Rae pouted.

"Well honey, you have to take one. How else will you get clean?"

She just shook her head.

"How about this? If you take a bath today, I'll get you ice cream at the parlor! How does that sound?"

Rae's dark brown eyes lit up at the sound of ice cream.

"Only if you take your bath, Rachel." Jake reminded her.

Jake helped get her ready and put her in the water. Bruce wasn't coming today, and Rae seemed to have shaken off the sleepiness she had yesterday. So it seemed like he was in for a busy day.

"Hot!" Rae yelled.

"Oops, sorry," Jake turned on the cold water spigot.

As he bathed Rae, he was lost in his thoughts. He was doing pretty well with this parenting thing, but was this something he could do everyday, eventually? Watching Rae took a lot of work. Since she was a Berenson, he could expect a lot of calamity.

_Plus a lot of drama. _He used some of his shampoo to wash Rae's hair out.

_Our lives always end up working out that way. _

Finally, Rae was done. He picked her up out of the water, dried her off, and put a fresh set of training pants onto her. Then he brought her out to the living room and rifled through her clothes, picking out a cute outfit with a hippopotamus stitched on the front of the dress. Jake figured that Cassie was definitely trying to spread her love of animals to Rae. Fittingly, he got her dressed in the clothing and placed Rae in his room, locking the door so he could take his own shower, taking a change of clothes into the bathroom so Rae wouldn't see anything indecent.

When he was done, he got dressed, which he was getting better at every day, and popped back out of the bathroom. Rae was jumping up and down on his bed.

"No Rae! Don't do that! You don't want to break Daddy's bed, do you?"

She nodded and kept on bouncing.

"Aw, Rae, now that would just hurt Daddy's feelings. I thought you loved your old man."

_Heh, funny I'm an old man now. _

Rae stopped jumping and plopped on the bed.

"Now we have to take you to the Zoo!"

* * *

Rae was enjoying her ice cream. Jake wouldn't be one to break a promise, even if that promise was totally unhealthy. So that was the first thing they did at the petting zoo, after beating back crazed autograph seekers.

"Do you like your ice cream Rae?" Jake asked. He had gotten her swirl, chocolate and vanilla. Something new for her, he guessed.

"Yah Da-ddy!" however, Rae was eating her ice cream too slowly, as it was starting to melt all over her hand and her dress.

"Oh Rae, look at you, you're making a mess all over your dress."

Jake used some napkins to clean the melted ice cream off of her hands, her dress, and her face.

"Ok, there you are, good as new. Now where do you want to go?"

"PONIES!"

"Ssh, Rae, don't yell. I hear you. I'll take you over to the ponies in a second. Just let me throw away this garbage in my hand. He took Rae's half eaten ice cream cone from her, as it was becoming a drippy mess. Then, for a split second, he turned his back and rolled to the garbage can.

"Okay Rae, I'll take you-"

Then Jake paused.

He couldn't see Rae. She had disappeared into the endless sea of faces.

"Rae, Rae, RACHEL!" Jake yelled.

He rolled right over to the ponies. Rachel wasn't waiting in line.

His heart started pounding. How could he have lost Rae? He only turned his back for a split second, and she was gone!

Jake went from exhibit to exhibit, from the pigs to the sheep to the baby goats. But he couldn't find his daughter.

_Oh no, if I lose her, Cassie will NEVER forgive me._

He started asking random people, showing them her picture. However, he got a lot of blank stares and polite "no's".

Just when Jake started to give up hope, a cop came up to him, holding Rae.

"Excuse me sir, I found this little girl wandering near the baby ducks. Is she your daughter? Some people said you were looking for a little girl."

"Yes,"

Jake looked up. Rae was crying in the policeman's arms.

"Shh Rae, it's okay!" Jake said as he took her into his arms. Rae just kept on crying.

"Mommy! I want MOMMY!"

* * *

Rae was a mess. She cried all the way back to the apartment, she cried once they got into the apartment, and she was currently crying on Jake's living room floor. Jake didn't know what to do to pacify her. He tried taking some toys out for her to play with, but that was an utter failure. As the sun went down, her crying got worse.

He started to run his hands through his hair.

"Stop crying Rae! I – I can't handle this!"

Rae used the opportunity to cry louder.

Jake started shaking back and forth, back and forth.

"I can't handle this, I can't handle this"

It was just about this time that Jake heard a key in his front door.

"Hello, I'm back-what the hell is going on?"

Cassie was back. Her meeting with the Hork-Bajir ended EARLY, so she decided to go back to the Bay to pick up Rae. What a shock she was in for. She stood in the doorway, looking very pissed off.

"I couldn't protect her…" Jake started to mumble.

"Jake, what in the hell did you do to my baby? Look at her hair! And I can smell she wet her training pants about three times!" She rushed over to pick Rae up.

"She got lost, at the zoo..."

"WHAT!? Jake, you know you can NEVER, EVER take your eyes off of a toddler. What is wrong with you?"

All Jake could do was look down at the ground.

"Jake, just forget it. This was a complete mistake having her stay with you. Come on Rae, let's go home-"

A clap of thunder interrupted Cassie. Violent rain started to pour down from the sky. The lights flickered off and on, then off in Jake's apartment.

"Crap, it's too bad to drive in the rain tonight. I guess we'll have to stay here."

Jake was silent.

The howling winds didn't help any either.

"Well, let me get Rae ready for bed…Jake, do you have any extra T-Shirts I could wear for tonight?"

"Yeah, they're in the top drawer of my dresser," Jake finally said. God, did he feel like an idiot. Cassie seemed to know everything about parenting, and he knew nothing. He didn't even know when to change Rae's training pants.

"I'm just going to get ready for bed. You and Rae can share my bed. I'll sleep out here on the couch." Jake finally said.

It was so dark in the room that Cassie could barely see Jake's worn out features.

"Are you sure? Jake you need that bed more than we do. It's better for your back."

"It's okay. I could sleep on hot coals, I'm so tired." Jake yawned

"Fine, then, I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay,"

* * *

Cassie curled up in the bed next to her how sleeping daughter. It took about an hour to get her to calm down to the point where Rae could get some rest. How dare he? Cassie knew it was probably unintentional, but still! How could he put their child's life in danger?

Rae burped and turned over.

_Jake needs some parenting classes, that's what he needs, instead of me getting mad at him. Boy do I want to hit him sometimes though. _

Cassie snuggled closer to her daughter as another bolt of lighting struck outside. Rae needed to be protected, no matter what.

Just then, she heard a scream.

"AAHHHHH!"

It was coming from the living room.

"Sleep tight baby, I'll be right back." She kissed Rae's head and went out to the living room.

Jake was sitting up, panting, on the couch.

"Oh gosh, Jake, what's wrong?" Cassie rushed over to his side.

"Crayak. He came to me in a dream. He said that he would kill me and kill Rae, and that there was nothing anyone could do about it. He also said…I was a bad father"

Instantly all of the anger that Cassie held towards Jake vanished. She sat down next to him and held his hand.

"Jake, that's not going to happen. I won't let that happen. He'll have to get through me first. Plus, you are NOT a bad father.

She hugged him.

"You're just inexperienced with some things. With more experience, you'll get better at these things. Trust me. I was no pro when I first brought Rae home. I had to learn and grow as a parent, just as you will."

She put her face into the small of his back.

"Come on, follow me." Cassie stood up and walked towards the bedroom.

"But Cass-"

"Yes honey?"

"We can't, you know, DO IT with the baby in the bed." Jake put himself in the wheelchair.

"Who said anything about doing it?" Cassie said with a coy smile. "We're just going to spend some time as a family."

Cassie pushed Jake into the bedroom and helped him get into bed. She also helped him hook up to his various health apparatuses. Then she put the baby into his arms.

"Here, you hold her."  
Jake kissed Rae's head and whispered into her ear.

"I will never let anything happen to you, ever."

Then the three of them cuddled together and went to sleep to the sound of the rain.

* * *

(Rae)

I was speechless. Dad…wow, he wasn't Superdad at one point in time?

"Now do you see why I'm so protective of you kids? Rachel, the day I lost you in the zoo, my heart stopped beating. You all are the most important people in my life, along with your mother. If anything ever happened to you-"

Dad got all choked up.

"I don't think I'd be able to go on. That's why I want to keep you all as safe as possible."

"But Dad, we already have an all star security team-" I tried to argue.

"Rae, you're growing up…and er, there will be consequences if you make the wrong decisions."

_Not this again…_

"I think we need to talk about some things. You'll be eighteen the next time I turn around, it seems. It's just that, when we're all out, I see these grown men staring at you, and not in a good way. As your father, I want to protect you from all of that. But I can't. I know that you're going to be attracted to guys. I just want you to be safe about it."

My eyes lit up. I knew he was talking about Derrick.

"You mean-"

"Yes, I mean Derrick, sweetheart."

"Well, am I allowed to see him?"

"Earlier I would have said no, but all of the events of the past couple of weeks have made me rethink my priorities in life. I want to talk to his parents though, to set some ground rules for your relationship."

My heart swelled.

_Maybe I can get lucky…_

So I can go to the winter dance with him, right?

Dad chuckled.

"Sure. I would be a bad father if I didn't let you have some fun!"

Dad and I hugged.

"Thank you so much Dad!"

"No problem. Now get out of here, you're done your punishment for today. Besides the pizza must be here by now and I don't want your mother straining herself. I'll be right behind you,"

I ran out of the barn, elated by the story and hopeful for my future.

When I got to the house, Mom was sitting on the couch watching TV. I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Somebody worked out their issues, I see." Mom beamed.

"I certainly did." I answered with a smile.

_Without a doubt._


End file.
